By Nate Jones

Staff Writer 

Gleeful cries from children playing at the Mahoney Middle School playground mingled with the quiet sobs from former prisoners of war (POWs) and their families gathered at the old electrical building and future home of the Maine Military Museum and Learning Center, on Broadway in South Portland April 19. In observance of POW/MIA Remembrance Day, Gov. John Baldacci admitted neglecting legislative duties in order to award 12 State of Maine Silver Star Honorable Service Medals to former prisoners of war from all over the state.

The short but poignant event began with 11-year-olds Keenan Beaudette and Jonah Desrochers from Kennebunk serenading the crowd with their version of “The Star Spangled Banner.” 

Bikers, soldiers, local police, Cumberland County Jail inmates and politicians remained standing during a presentation from the Color Guard, followed by a Rifle Squadron complete with bugler. 

World War II former POWs awarded the Silver Star included Stanley Durgin of South Paris, Ernest Henderson of Winthrop, Emilien Levesque of Hallowell, Harry Melcher of Bingham, Raymond Reitze of Buxton and Arnold Leavitt of Auburn. Brooks resident Vernon Clark and Delvin Merrill of Naples received Silver Stars for time spent in captivity during the Korean War. Four Vietnam veterans also received the medal: Charles Crafts of Livermore, Robert Fant of Topshma, Markham Gartley of Westbrook and Norman Spear of Windham.

Merrill was a corporal in the U.S. Army from 1950 until 1954, when he was captured by the North Korean Army during the Korean War. 

“I never thought I’d see anything from the Korean War in a museum,” he said.

Leavitt also received the medal for spending “seven or eight weeks” in captivity during World War II. 

“It was long enough so I weighed 97 pounds when I got out,” he said. 

Both veterans said the exhibit brought back vivid memories from their experiences and encouraged soldiers currently overseas to “keep their head down” to stay safe.

“God bless them and I hope they get home,” Merrill said. 

South Portland resident and Vietnam veteran Dave Stevens was one of many former military personnel who took the time to honor the POWs. Stevens said his duties with the Air Force in the 1950s, and then with the Coast Guard from 1970 to 1996 never required him to leave the United States. Stevens has a tremendous amount of respect for soldiers who were deployed to combat zones, he said.

Those former POWs to enter the new museum did so among fellow veterans and other friends, all of whom marveled at the different military memorabilia arranged in the small space. 

Artifacts from all wars, including mannequins wearing authentic military uniforms and badges, old newspaper articles, original photographs and even a cloudy beer bottle are just some of the relics Humiston included in the exhibit. 

“It’s amazing how much stuff we already have,” Humiston said.

Humiston designed the back corner of the facility to represent the actual size of a North Vietnamese prison cell “to really give people an idea of what those fellows went through,” he said. 

Over the last seven months the old city electrical building has been stripped and emptied by local police officers, then repainted by Cumberland County Jail inmates as part of a community work program. South Portland Police Sgt. Steve Webster is on the board of directors for the project, and was one of a dozen officers who helped clean up the building last month. He said he saw the new museum as a “community building and a community project.”

The museum will officially open to the public when restorations are completed in August, Humiston said. Humiston will be responsible for installing adequate security systems in addition to future improvements to the exterior of the building, per his agreement with the city.

“The city still owns the building,” South Portland City Manager Jim Gailey said. “Lee will keep up the security measures as well as paying for utilities.” 

Humiston said he planned to increase the size of the building by nearly 2,000 feet to accommodate the amount of memorabilia he has acquired. 

“This is just the beginning,” he said. 

Inmates will also construct a stairwell connecting the basement to the main floor of the building. Humiston said he plans to develop the lower level of the old electrical station into a learning center for students from the nearby schools.

“They won’t learn the Hollywood version,” Humiston said. 

Gailey, who is also on the Maine Military Museum’s board of directors, said the museum could have a positive effect on the surrounding neighborhoods by becoming a large tourist attraction in the future.

“This will be the one place in the United States, if not the world, to see POW artifacts,” Gailey said. “We just don’t know the magnitude of the effect this small, 800-foot building could have on the local economy.”

For more information about the  museum or how to make a donation visit  www.mainemilitarymuseum.com or call Lee Humiston at 650-8651.