Remembering Maine’s fallen
Walkabout: PI
Happenings in the Star City
Several sites around Presque Isle honor veterans. There is Veterans Park on Main Street, the row of veterans’ graves at Fairmount Cemetery, Gold Star Memorial Bridge (the Park Street Bridge), to name just a few. It’s easy to go by them, and yet not see, not understand the sacrifice they represent.
Jonathan Kelley of Presque Isle has made that sacrifice hit home in a very real way. He has recently turned his front yard into a tribute to those with Maine ties who have died defending our country since 9/11.
The sight is stirring; there are 95 signs, each with the photograph of a fallen soldier, intermingled with a pattern of small American flags. The display will be up until Sept. 11, which will be the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
Those memorialized, Kelley said, are Maine’s fallen heroes who have ties to, or are from, Maine.
“So that means they were either born here, have family here, or have some past history here,” he said Thursday. “There are 95 who are represented who made the ultimate sacrifice since 9/11 in 2001. This is to honor and remember them and their families.”
Kelley, a forester for J.M. Huber, is also the owner of CompetitorME, which organizes and administers races and triathlon events in Aroostook County.
“I’ve been involved in honoring Maine’s heroes in a number of different ways with CompetitorME,” he said. “We directed Run for Heroes in May, and these signs were a part of that event. It was a run/walk event that honored all of Maine’s fallen, but with more of an Aroostook County feel. A lot of the families in northern Maine have to travel downstate to events such as that, so this is an event that they’ve really come to embrace in their own backyard.
Kelley said a number of Gold Star Families were in attendance at the Run for Heroes, which made an impact on him.
American Gold Star families, according to government-funded multimedia news service Voice of America, are immediate relatives of members of the U.S. Armed Forces who have been killed in combat or in support of certain military activities.
Kelley was quick to point out that he wants no personal accolades from this memorial.
“This isn’t about me,” he emphasized. “This isn’t about anything that Jon Kelley or CompetitorME stands for or has done. I’m not a vet; I’m a patriotic American who wants to remember and honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms.”
Though he can’t know their stories, Kelley feels it is important to honor and remember the families of the fallen, as well.
“My story is losing my father to cancer 12 years ago, and from that, I can meet them at grief,” he reflected. “I was able to say goodbye to my father and have some time with him before he passed; however, those families never had that opportunity. And therefore, I just feel that it’s very important to never forget these individuals.”
The photographs in the display will become part of a living tribute this Sept. 11, which falls on a Sunday. He is organizing an event called “9/11: Honoring of Flags,” which will take place on Main Street.
“The premise of it is, from the time the first plane hit the towers, until the tower fell, it was a total of 102 minutes. We are going to line Main Street, at the intersection of North and Main, standing there holding flags, for those 102 minutes.”
The event is on Facebook right now, and Kelley invites anyone interested to participate – and hopes for a good turnout.
“There are a number of Gold Star Families who will be coming up for that. We are inviting people to join this call to action for our community.”
Kelley’s front yard memorial was featured on WAGM-TV last week, and he said he has had a lot of positive reaction.
“Probably the one that’s most touching – and I still have yet to meet these people … there was a family living in Mars Hill who lost their son, I believe, in 2012, and I’m going to have the opportunity to meet them, learn about their son and introduce them to other Gold Star Families in Maine.”
And for him, that’s what it’s all about – putting faces to the grieving, and remembering.
“One thing that is wonderful,” he added, “is being able to meet these families, who have lost so much, but are still so giving.”
