By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
STACYVILLE — For the second time in the past year, a soldier from northern Maine has been awarded the prestigious Legion of Merit honor.
Command Sgt. Maj. Steven L. Curtis of Stacyville was awarded the Legion of Merit in June during a special ceremony at the Armed Forces Reserved Center in Bangor. His wife Kelley and son Shea accompanied him.
The Legion of Merit is awarded to those who display extraordinary meritorious conduct while discharging their duty, with outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued both to United States military personnel and to military and political figures of foreign governments.
Contributed photo
LEGION OF MERIT — Command Sgt. Maj. Steven L. Curtis, right, of Stacyville earned the prestigious Legion of Merit Award for his 33 years of military service. With Curtis are his son, Shea, and wife, Kelley.
The award was established by an act of Congress in 1942. It is one of only two United States military decorations to be issued as a neck order, the other being the Medal of Honor. It is the sixth in the order of precedence of U.S. military awards.
Curtis said he was not aware that he was getting the prestigious honor prior to receiving it.
“It was a surprise for sure,” he said. “It’s something I never expected to get. I was shocked and honored to get this medal.”
After 33 years of dedicated service to his country, Curtis, 60, retired from the military at the end of July. He enlisted in the Army in 1974 as an infantryman and was assigned to the 10th Ordinance Company in Germany performing missile site security. He served with the 82nd Airborne from 1981-84 as an infantryman paratrooper.
In 1983, he was deployed to the Sinai Peninsula as part of an international peacekeeping force, overseeing the terms of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. He was also deployed to Granada as part of “Operation Urgent Fury,” to rescue American students.
He was discharged from active duty in 1984 and served with the 16th Infantry Reserves until August, 1986, when he joined the Maine Army National Guard. While assigned to the Guard, he served with distinction in critical, and at times dangerous assignments within aviation units, where he amassed 2,232 total flight hours.
Curtis held positions as UH-1 and UH-60 crew chief and flight medic, flight and standardization instructor, flight platoon sergeant, first sergeant and command sergeant major within the aviation units for over 22 years.
He has performed numerous helicopter medical evacuation missions within the state, many being rescue hoists from Mount Katahdin. Curtis was also deployed to Bosnia from 1999 to 2000, providing Medevac support for Stabilization Force 6, upholding NATO-led Multinational Peacekeeping Force as part of the Dayton Agreement. He went to Iraq twice (2003-04 and 2008-09). After his return in 2009, he served as the CSM Regional Training Institute Commandant until Oct. 2012.
Curtis was then assigned as the operation sergeant major for the 120th Regional Support Group located in Bangor.
His list of prior awards and commendations is impressive. Curtis has received the Bronze Star medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon, NATO Medal, Multinational Force and Observers Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, Master Aircraft Crewman Badge, German Armed Forces Parachutist Badge and the German Armed Forces Badge for Weapons Proficiency.
He has also received the Meritorious Unit Commendation, the Maine Commanders Award, Maine Physical Fitness Award, Maine Good Conduct Award, Maine State Emergency Service Award, Maine Honorable Service Award and the Maine Ice Guard ‘98 Award.
Curtis has always dedicated his time to “taking care of soldiers” and has molded and helped retain countless soldiers because of his “Be, Know, Do” mantra with his troops.
“Serving in the military was really a boyhood dream of mine,” Curtis said. “The ultimate test to me was to be in combat. Of course, you don’t wish for combat situation to happen, but when they did it was my passion to defend our country.”
