Maine news, sports, weather from Waterville Morning Sentinel

Fallen heroes remembered in Waterville, Madison

By Amy Calder acalder@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

Army Spc. Wade A. Slack was very much on the minds of central Mainers Monday as they remembered fallen heroes.
In a Memorial Day celebration in Waterville, speakers at services spoke of Slack, a 21-year-old Waterville native who died May 6 while serving in Afghanistan.
“Wade made the ultimate sacrifice of giving his life to protect our freedom and liberty,” Waterville Mayor Paul LePage said.
LePage was speaking at Memorial Park after a parade that marched through downtown at mid-morning. Earlier, at the Forest J. Pare Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1285 on Water Street, an American flag was hoisted and then lowered to half-staff in honor of Slack and others who gave their lives in service to the country. Slack’s family and friends stood silently during the solemn ceremony, which included a rifle salute.
At the park ceremony later, LePage, a gubernatorial candidate, talked about how honor guards fold the American flag 13 times, and about the meaning of each fold.
“The third fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veterans departing the ranks who gave a portion of their lives for the defense of the country to attain peace throughout the world,” he said.
Major Gen. John Libby of the Maine Army National Guard also spoke. He paid tribute to several central  Mainers who have died in recent wars, including Maj. Jay Aubin and most recently, Slack.
“This war has not been without significant cost in central  Maine,” he said.
At mid-afternoon, Sen. Peter Mills,  R-Cornville, spoke at the opening of a new memorial park and monument at Harvell Bishop Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7865 in Madison.
Mills, also a gubernatorial candidate, recalled his own experiences as a sailor in the U.S. Navy during Vietnam.
He spoke of the importance of contributing when one is called  upon to do so, whether by serving on a jury or town board or by paying taxes.
He said that if fallen veterans could speak, he thinks they would tell people to remember them, but also to enjoy their families, friends and the good things in life.
“We all have a calling  — to serve the VFW or the legislature,” Mills said, “ and I think those people lying below you would like to tell us, ‘As you remember us, remember that you have an obligation to serve, even if in a small way.’”
Earlier, hundreds of people lined the streets for the Waterville parade, which included police and firefighters, Boys & Girls Scouts, veterans, Elks, and Waterville Senior High School and Junior High School bands.
For Wayne Elkins, a  U.S.  Army veteran and member of the  Waterville VFW, Monday was a day to remember not only those who have died, but others who sacrificed their lives.
“Two friends of mine I grew up with are still POWs — two brothers,” he said.
A national recruiter for the VFW, who also is homeless veterans chairman for the state, Elkins spent 14 months in Vietnam during that war.
“I think about the friends I’ve lost,” he said. “I think about family members we lost.”

Amy Calder — 861-9247
acalder@centralmaine.com