By Natalie De La Garza
Staff Writer
CARIBOU, Maine — A Caribou-made wreath recently had the honor of adorning the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, accompanied from northern Maine to the monument by students of the Loring Job Corps Center who are currently members of the center’s Honor Guard. It was a trip those seven students won’t be forgetting any time soon.
Derek Patterson, Sam Fontilus, Mederick Polius, Jamal Campbell, Eddiesel Hernandez, Anderson Campbell and Brian Tittle are all Loring Defenders of the approximately 15-person Honor Guard, and all were given the opportunity to visit the D.C. area thanks to the coordinatied efforts of their military prep instructor and commander of the Honor Guard Roger Felix, whose title with the Honor Guard is sergeant major.
Staying at the Potomac Job Corps Center, the group from Loring had about three days in and around the capital to take in the sights and deliver the wreath — made at Noyes Flower and Plant Shop in Caribou by proprietor and Army Veteran Kimber Noyes — to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Save one student, Fontilus, this was the first trip to the capital for the other six Loring Defenders.
Patterson, Polius, Campbell, Hernandez and Tittle sat down with the Aroostook Republican on Nov. 1 to describe their trip, and their recollection was filled with not only smiles and laughter, but also serious reflection.
Of every historic site and monument the group visited, their favorite place —and the most impactive — was the Arlington National Cemetery.
“It was huge,” Polius described.
On the walk in, the group experienced the sheer size of the cemetery and identified the final resting place of specific heroes — like Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient Audie Murphy.
Arriving at the Tomb, four members of the Honor Guard — Tittle, Hernandez, Basilio and Polius —were given the opportunity to present the wreath and they watched as another group of three small children presented a wreath for the Tomb.
Tittle described that an Army Corporal guided those youths through the ceremonial process, bending to their level to whisper instructions about where to turn and when to salute.
When the Honor Guard members were given their opportunity to present their wreath, things went a little differently.
As Tittle described, the officer led the four Loring students down the steps of the memorial; another soldier, standing where the wreath was to be presented, vocalized the instructions as he did with the previous group — but unlike the children, the corporal at the sides of the Honor Guard members wasn’t whispering instructions for them to follow.
“(The sentinel before the Tomb) shouted out commands that we were kind of familiar with — (commands) that we get to learn in the Honor Guard,” Tittle described.
Following the commands they were issued, Polius and Basilio formally laid the wreath while Tittle and Hernandez saluted.
“It was more like us doing communications … with people we’d never met before in a different setting, but it still worked the same,” Polius said.
The experience contained both expected and unexpected aspects for the Loring Honor Guard; their practiced movements and high-standard appearances were held to the same scrutiny as when they march in parades and or serve as the Color Guard during ceremonies — but they couldn’t fathom the sense of place of the Arlington National Cemetery.
There were tourists, and cameras, and the sentinels — defined by the cemetery’s website as “the best of the elite 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) headquartered at Fort Myer, Va.
“We always go out and we always present ourselves in front of people, so we always have to make sure everything’s done right with our training … but it’s just that we’d never been to D.C. before,” Polius described.
For instance, Polius wasn’t too nervous about participating in the ceremony but at some point during the wreath presentation, he was standing unbeknownst in the exact spot where President Ronald Regan once stood … and later admitted that he would have been more nervous if he’d known that he would be standing where President Regan once stood.
“We follow the military basics all the time — we know about it and what’s expected — but when you’re really in a place like that and under pressure, it’s like a whole different eye-opening experience,” Tittle said. “It’s like a movie almost, being in that type of historic place.”
Hernandez, the youngest Honor Guard member at 17, unexpectedly found motivation for the future while presenting a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
“The corporal came by my side, and then I had to about face — and I was right next to the corporal,” he recalled with a big smile. “It made me feel more inspired, because I’m a cadet corporal (with the Loring Honor Guard).”
While the magnitude of the wreath-laying ceremony deeply resonated with the students, it wasn’t the only event at the famed military cemetery that proved impactive.
“One of my favorite things,” said Tittle, “when we were in the cemetery, we were able to witness a veteran being put to rest; it was just a still moment where you realize ‘wow, this is serious.’”
Tittle described the funeral proceedings — the music, the saluting, the folding of the flag over the casket, the gun salute — all orchestrated with perfect precision.
But aside from the uniform perfection of the military personnel, the atmosphere was different.
They said it didn’t feel like mourning.
“It was more like commemoration of someone that passed — like a fallen brother,” Tittle said, describing that there were more uniformed individuals in attendance than civilians in typical funeral attire.
“It was more of a moment when they were showing respect for their service, and what they’ve done for our country,” Hernandez said.
The cemetery was one of many sites the group visited, and the trip brought them to the Lincoln Memorial, the Kennedy Memorial, the WW II Memorial, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, the Air Force Memorial, the Air and Space Museum, a big military convention, and the Vietnam Memorial.
“So many names …” Polius commented on the Vietnam Memorial.
As members of the Honor Guard at the Job Corps Center, students are sometimes afforded the opportunity to represent their center at different prestigious locations — but other trips don’t have the same effect as this recent one.
“We got a trip to a Boston Red Sox game one time, and some of us were over on second base presenting flags and stuff — that was pretty crazy, but going somewhere more military enveloped … this is history,” Tittle said, and quickly conceding to Red Sox fans everywhere that yes, baseball is history — but the Arlington National Cemetery is different.
Before they came to the Job Corps Center and joined the extracurricular military prep course, the students admitted that they weren’t very patriotic — that was something that grew through their participation in the Honor Guard. They also gained a better understanding of themselves.
“Before I came here, I couldn’t do a single pushup to save my life,” Polius said, as his fellow Defenders laughed and offered similar sentiments. “I didn’t’ know military rules, I didn’t have discipline — I was ‘that guy,” and now I’m ‘the guy.’”
Through the Honor Guard program, students learn more about themselves than they ever thought possible.
“To get your uniform, you have to earn it — but to get your patches is another thing, and to be called a Defender is something else,” Tittle said. “I feel like I came here a bad guy … and became a good guy.”
Patterson had a very different transformation experience; he was very, very shy.
“Sergeant Major just kept pushing me,” he described. “I’d say ‘I don’t want this position,’ or ‘I don’t want this responsibility …’” but sure enough, Patterson learned how to be a leader and grew from the experiences.
“My level of respect for Sergeant Major is so high,” Campbell said. “He is the most patient person I’ve ever met in my life, and he’s always willing to work with you.”
While the students had nothing but good things to say about the military prep program at the center, they also didn’t run out of positive things to say about Sgt. Maj. Felix.
According to his students, their commanding officer is kind, generous, persistent, respected, “and he believes in all of us.”
“He believes that however bad you are, you can always turn around,” Polius said.
