CARIBOU, Maine – Caribou celebrated Memorial Day with a parade and ceremony that paid tribute to deceased military service members.
Hundreds lined the streets leading to the city’s Veterans Memorial Park to watch the annual parade, featuring youth members of the Civil Air Patrol, the Loring Honor Guard, American Legion Post 15, Lister-Knowlton VFW Post 9389, the Caribou middle and high school bands, Little League baseball players, Girl Scouts and local pageant queens.
The American Legion and VFW held a brief ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Park on Main Street following the parade.
Members of both organizations and their auxiliary groups placed wreaths honoring fallen soldiers, Gold Star families and veterans. VFW member Dennis Dube placed the prisoner-of-war and missing-in-action wreath in honor of his father, who was a prisoner of war for two years.
Caribou band students played the national anthem. Band member and Caribou High School senior Lars Spooner played taps with former band leader Vaughn McLaughlin.
VFW Commander Roger Felix reminded the crowd that this year marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day: June 6, 1944, the day Allies invaded the beaches of Normandy during World War II.
“Let us not mourn the loss of these brave men, but let us be grateful for their sacrifice,” Felix said.
American Legion Chaplain Wanda Smith said that all soldiers and veterans fought a common enemy alongside people from all walks of life, and that people owe it to them to resist societal divisions.
“Let us get along as a community and embrace what we have in common,” Smith said.
The ceremony honored the following 35 local veterans who have passed away since Memorial Day 2023.
Fred Ormezzani, Korean War, U.S. Air Force; Roch Dupree, World War II, U.S. Air Force; Andre Dumas, Vietnam War, U.S. Air Force; Ronaldo Levesque, World War II, U.S. Army; Joel Theriault, Korea, U.S. Army; Tommy Tomlinson, Vietnam, U.S. Army; Dalton Tibbetts, Vietnam, U.S. Army;
Reno R. Lavoie, Vietnam, U.S. Army; Roland Anderson, World War II, U.S. Army; Michael Ouellette, Vietnam, U.S. Army; James Jacques, Vietnam, U.S. Army; Wesley Rankin, Vietnam, U.S. Army; Clifford Roy, World War II, U.S. Army; Alphy St. Peter, World War II, U.S. Army;
Walter Mattson, World War II, U.S. Army; Roland Cowett, Vietnam, U.S. Marines; Gerald Drake, Vietnam, U.S. Army; Roland Babin, Vietnam, U.S. Army; Robert Malenfant, Vietnam, U.S. Army; Roland Guerrette, Vietnam, U.S. Army; Charles Caron, Vietnam, U.S. Air Force;
Phillip St. Peter, Korea, U.S. Navy; Randall Johnson, Grenada, U.S. Navy; Kenneth Cyr, Vietnam, U.S. Army; Linas Billings, Jr., Vietnam, U.S. Army; Alberie Nadeau, World War II, U.S. Army Air Force; Ernest Chamberlain, World War II, U.S. Army; Richard Bichtel, Vietnam, U.S. Air Force; David Bell, Vietnam, U.S. Army;
Byron Skidgel, Vietnam, U.S. Marines; Joseph Martin, Korea, U.S. Army; David Quimby, Vietnam, U.S. Army; Larry Robichaud, Vietnam, U.S. Army; Douglas Hallett, Korea, U.S. Army; and John Dixon, Vietnam, U.S. Army.
