On July 19 Lincoln held a Homecoming Parade. Lincolnpeace participated in that parade. We carried banners with names of the soldiers from the state of Maine who have lost their lives in the Afghanistan-Iraq wars. It was a very hot and humid day and the walk was long.

Our statement was, “These are the soldiers from the state of Maine who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq. We are honoring them today.” We received applause and thanks. People were astounded to see that so many soldiers from this state have died. We want to remind people to remember and honor them.

The man who carried the banner that day with Sgt. Blair Emery’s name is a 70-year-old Vietnam veteran who has had two strokes. He was suffering from heat prostration and needed desperately to sit down. He was near collapse at the end of the parade walk. That’s when the banner touched the ground. When it was brought to our attention, we moved to correct it. I apologized to the family, another one of our members tried to apologize, as did the veteran carrying the banner. I assured the family it would not happen again, but they requested Blair’s banner be removed from future events. We will honor that request and I am waiting to hear from the family as to what they want us to do with the banner.

Lincolnpeace is very sorry for the loss of Sgt. Blair Emery and all the soldiers from this state. For all the soldiers.

Vicki Garnett

Lincoln