Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Happy Veteran's Day, Arthur

For the past few years, I've been in the habit of stopping at our local Dunkin' Donuts for a few minutes of quiet time with my coffee and Portland Press Herald before the start of another busy day. That's where I met Arthur.
 

I'd see him again every Tuesday night at Weight Watchers, which is held at out local American Legion Hall. Arthur would always be there helping out before the meeting and teasing the ladies as we headed to and from the scale.


Arthur's dream was to create a lasting monument to the Veteran's of our little town of Falmouth. When he and his buddies graduated from Falmouth High School, classes of 1944 and 1945, there were only about a hundred students; six of the 100 were lost in WWII.

 
After years of planning and volunteer work years of planning and volunteer work by Arthur and his friends, the monument was dedicated this morning. It was completely paid for by donations from townspeople in honor of our Veterans.
 

It was difficult to photograph clearly, but the back of the monument, the side facing Art's beloved Legion Hall, says, "All Gave Some. Some Gave All."


Arthur passed away last April, before the monument was finished.
But he was honored today and a letter from him - urging the completion of the project - was read at the dedication.


I know Arthur would have been smiling that beautiful smile of his this morning to see the outpouring of support for our Veterans.



Job well done, Arthur.
You can rest now; we've got this.
 
Remembering Arthur, my Dad (Army Air Force, WWII) and all Veterans today,
 
 
 

3 comments:

  1. What a beautiful story. Thanks for sharing Arthur's dream that became reality. It's a shame he didn't get to see it completed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just read this, after coming late to your blog. As an Army Veteran, let me thank you for this moving tribute to Arthur and the other Veterans of your community.

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