Two young Maine Marines who died in the line of duty 74 years apart — one during World War II and the other during a deadly aircraft crash in August — are finally home.
WWII Marine Pvt. Alberic “Brick” Blanchette, 19, of Caribou and Capt. Benjamin Cross, 26, of Bethel arrived home Thursday, and have funerals scheduled for Monday and Saturday, respectively.
Blanchette died in the bloody Battle of Tarawa in 1943 on a small Pacific island and was only recently identified by DNA, and Cross was one of three Marines who died Aug. 5 in a crash near Australia. His body was recovered nearly a month later.
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- Members of the Marine Corps League Detachment 1368 of Aroostook County stand at attention as a hearse carrying the remains of World War II Marine Pvt. Alberic “Brick” Blanchette makes its way through Houlton Thursday evening. (Joseph Cyr)
Both veterans were escorted to their final resting places by the Maine State Police and others.
Blanchette’s procession arrived in Maine on Thursday afternoon, and the body of Cross, a second lieutenant who was posthumously promoted to captain, was scheduled to arrive that evening.
The County is pleased to feature content from our sister company, Bangor Daily News. To read the rest of “Two Maine Marines who died overseas, 74 years apart, finally come home to rest,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Nok-Noi Ricker, please follow this link to the BDN online.
