Houlton honors POWs and MIAs

HOULTON, Maine — Nearly 70 people gathered to recognize POW/MIA Day despite rain and wind Sunday as remnants of a weakened Hurricane Kyle hurtled up the Eastern Seaboard toward Canada. The United Vets Motorcycle Club of Houlton sponsored the time for reflection and remembrance as the Maine State Select Honor Guard and the Honors Team of the American Legion Post 47 Auxiliary stood guard.
    Pastor Steve Straubel of the Littleton Baptist Church, the club chaplain, opened the ceremony with words of welcome and a prayer. Several individuals, including Jim Dunlop, Dave Pond and Brian McNally offered individual readings.  Allison Roy, president of VFW Auxiliary Post 2299 of Sherman,  along with her husband Peter, sang two very emotional and touching passages.
On behalf of my husband, SFC Harold L. Maker who is currently stationed in Afghanistan, I presented the club president, Paul Graham, a guidon — a flag made by an elder there and flown on his Forward Operating Base.
I then read a poem by former World War II POW Chester Nickerson of Monticello which was written as he left captivity on his way home.  Nickerson, 82, is also a veteran of the Korean War.
As club members “changed the colors,” Taps, played by Gerald Riley, resonated through the air for a subdued and reflective gathering.
Pastor Straubel, in his closing prayer, asked everyone to remember those who are still unaccounted for and those who continue to serve their country.