BURNHAM — More than 300 people gathered alongside the Sebasticook River on Monday afternoon to unveil the Cpl. Clair Goodblood Medal of Honor Memorial. The memorial, the centerpiece in a veterans park that includes a World War II monument, granite steppingstones in honor and memory of individual veterans, and a granite memorial bench, honors Goodblood, a Burnham native who was killed in Korea.

The park is on Route 100, dedicated Monday as the Clair Goodblood Memorial Highway.

During the ceremony, Gov. Angus King solemnly had the flag lowered to half staff and then uncovered the monument, which contains a likeness of Goodblood and the story of his heroism.

While serving as a machine gunner in 1951 in Korea, Goodblood voluntarily remained behind to cover his unit’s withdrawal. When a grenade fell nearby, he shielded his assistant to protect him and both men were wounded. Goodblood saw to the evacuation of his assistant and then fearlessly maintained his position. When his body was recovered, more than 100 dead enemy soldiers lay around him.

His sacrifice came as no surprise to his family members gathered at the memorial dedication. There were 14 Goodblood children — Clair was the fourth-oldest — and several were on hand for the unveiling.

One of Goodblood’s brothers, Roy, came from California for the event. “Clair was a person that always thought of other people first,” he said. “We are very proud of him.” Roy said his brother was serving his second tour of duty in Korea when he was killed. He re-enlisted as a chaplain but ended up as a machine gunner.

Another brother, George, who still lives in Burnham, said he was overwhelmed by the event. “This is so nice. They’ve done a super job.” George said he recalled just finishing eighth grade when word came that his brother had been killed. “We were old enough to know what war was and old enough to know that some men wouldn’t be coming home.”

During the ceremonies, Goodblood’s cousin, Shirley G. Dancer, read her poem about Goodblood, which is also inscribed on the back of the monument. “Although he sleeps in Korean land,” she read, “we know he has come home again.”

Also unveiled and on display were Goodblood’s Medal of Honor and Purple Heart, which will be permanently housed at Camp Keyes in Augusta.

Surrounding the monument are 71 granite steppingstones, the sale of which financed the venture. They say “in honor” and “in memory” of dads, brothers, fathers and sons. They mention places very distant from Burnham — North Africa, Italy, France, Vietnam and Korea.

The monument itself is inscribed “In remembrance of an honored son who served, fought, bled and died in the service of his country. He fought for the freedom of a land most had never heard of, for a people he did not know, against a foe that had espoused a philosophy that endangered the free world.”

Goodblood is one of only three Korean Medal of Honor recipients from Maine. In his remarks to the large gathering, King said, “We can’t dedicate this ground today. The actions of Clair Goodblood have dedicated this ground for us.”

Also attending the ceremony was Norman Heitmann Jr., of Troy, who served in the same battalion as Goodblood in Korea; Maj. Gen. Earl Adams, adjutant general of the Maine National Guard; Roger Chadwick, Burnham first selectman; Martin O’Brien, president of the Cpl. Clair Goodblood Chapter of the Korean War Veterans Association; the Maine State Select Honor Guard; and the Warsaw Middle School band.