Hikers from all over the region will converge on Baxter State Park this Memorial Day weekend for a special tribute climb to Mt. Katahdin’s peak.
United States Marine Corps Maj. David J. Cote, founder and creator of the Summit Project, has spent a year planning this event to honor the fallen service men and women of Maine.
These hikers will be not only taking up necessary supplies for the climb such as water, food and first aid, but they will also be carrying many stones — etched with a fallen service man or woman’s initials, year of birth and death and rank — the size of coconuts.
“Most of these stones are coming from camps, swimming holes, fishing holes, farmers’ fields, backyards and church yards,” said Cote. “I have asked families if they would take time to select a special stone to represent their fallen loved one. They have taken a lot of time to select the perfect stone.”
The stones usually range in weight from five pounds to 15.
“Some of these folk coming have never been to Maine before let alone Mount Katahdin,” Cote said.
Hikers will be flying in from California, coming north from Virginia, and they are a wide array of volunteers from family of fallen heroes, a pastor to a recovering alcoholic. The youngest participant is 14 and the oldest is 75.
“They are all dedicated and committed,” said Cote.
The Summit Project was born out of an adventure that Cote experienced with friends in 2012, while attending graduate school in California.
“I hiked Mt. Whitney, which is three times the elevation of Mt. Katahdin, with friends who were Navy Seals,” explained Cote. “When we reached the top of that mountain, those Seals pulled stones out of their backpacks that they had carried under their own power … feeling the mass of these stones … after hiking about 12 hours. They pulled them out and hid them under a crevice to represent the fallen Navy Seals.”
Cote thought this was an inspiring concept modeled by his friends to honoring their fallen brothers.
“I thought let’s put this together honoring the state I am really, really proud to be from,” he said. “I am a really proud native Mainer.”
Cote, who graduated from Bangor High School, went on to the Naval Academy before joining the Marine Corps. He is on active duty at the U.S. Pentagon.
According to Cote, Maine has a high number of veterans and the state is near the top of the percentage of an adult population who are veterans.
“One in eight has served in uniform and that is remarkable in my mind, especially in a time when our services are voluntary,” said Cote. “I was particularly interested in those who have given their lives in the line of duty. Because of the way they served us, how can we serve them?”
That is how the Summit Project was born.
Volunteers with the Summit Project actually go to a Portland Processing Center, select the stone, sign it out and take the stones on adventures all over the world and then return them.
However, there are two steps Cote wants volunteers to adhere to: First, when selecting a stone, learn about the fallen service man or woman it represents; and secondly, to write a letter to the family about their adventure with the stone.
“These volunteers and families were formerly strangers,” said Cote. “Now, they are connected forever. We carry the stone for the hike, but we carry the stories for a lifetime. And they can forever touch us”.
Many of Maine’s fallen heroes were patriots who died at young ages.
“Maine has great natural resources, but people are our most precious,” said Cote. “People of Maine have stepped up to serve. They have left great communities that they loved, their families, their homes and their jobs. We have a duty, we have a really sacred responsibility, to learn about those fallen heroes. And even though they were young, they still lived a life of service.”
Cote has compiled video interviews with the families of those left behind. The families talk about their loved one and share stories about each one.
“I have made many trips to Maine over the last year from Arlington,” Cote said. “I have visited every county in Maine.”
With each family visit and video testimonial, he asks the same questions, “What kind of person was he/she before leaving for the service? What were his/her principles?
“I think if we can capture that by the family interviews in learning about the fallen, every single time someone touches that stone, they can know and appreciate those values,” Cote added.
The stones have been up and down the East Coast; with Wreaths Across America; in marathons, parades and to top of mountains like Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa. Locally, SFC Aaron A. Henderson’s stone went to the peak of Mt. Everest.
Cote said the biggest source of anxiety for the families is that their loved one’s memory will be forgotten.
“We can ensure their memory stays alive with this living memorial,” he said.
Volunteers will have a few more opportunities to help with the Summit Project through different adventures.
In June, a Memorial Softball Tournament for SFC Henderson will be held again this year; Chris Robinson of Monticello is taking a group in July through a 100-mile Wilderness Walk (a future story on this event will be featured in an upcoming edition); and Cote is forming another activity in September to climb Cadillac Mountain near Bar Harbor.
To find out more information on the Summit Project and its actives go their website at www.mainememorial.org.
“I encourage folks to come up with their own ideas, as well,” Cote said. “Each idea brings people together. I believe the state of Maine, though we are 1.3 million, actually is just a large family. We are building communities and bringing our state together. We are able to understand and appreciate what it means to serve others. What it means to sacrifice for others and what it means to lift others up.”
Cote noted community members lift others up when they are in need or vulnerable, but with the Summit Project, volunteers literally lift others up with stones in their backpacks.
“It is an act of solidarity where we can share the burden that was not only shouldered by the service member, but their families. They have grieved a lot. I don’t want those stories to be lost. They can really continue to inspire generations to come. We can really protect and preserve the proud legacy of service that we have in our state.”
