ussmaine

USS Maine (ACR-1)

American Legion, 3rd District Historian Paul is calling to remembrance the USS Maine (ACR-1)

3rd District Public Relations Historian Officer, Paul R. Bernard is pictured standing beside the 498 pound shell recovered from the wreck of the USS Maine (ACR-1) that was used by its 10 inch gun. The shell sits on the base of the "Remember the Maine" Memorial Stone at the Lewiston/Auburn Veterans Memorial Park.

As Chaplain of the Turner Memorial Post 111, the Chaplain was told by Mrs. Eva Leavitt, Town Manager that the USS Maine (ACR-1) has a connection to Turner Maine. The Town Manager went on to say that the town has a century box made from some of the rescued metal from that ship. The box is said to contain letters, pictures, and other items. Albert Bradford was a selectmen when it was opened in 1973. It was first sealed in 1923. The organizers of the event donated monies and there is a trust fund tied to it that will be divided up between the Town and the Leavitt High School in 2023.

Local veterans will 'remember the Maine'
Wednesday, February 13, 2008

LEWISTON - Veterans organizations and the public are invited to attend a memorial ceremony commemorating the 110th anniversary of the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana Cuba on Feb. 15, 1898.
The service will be held at noon Friday, Feb. 15, at the Trinity Episcopal Church. The ceremony will open with the pledge of allegiance and an invocation by the Rev. Ben Barnes, interim rector at the church.
American Legion Chaplain Paul R. Bernard will give a description of the events leading up to the explosion and sinking of the Maine, and Jerry DerBoghosian, chaplain, Longley-Dionne Post 9150, VFW, will read the names of those five sailors who lost their lives from Bath, Frank Talbot, Boothbay Harbor, Millard F. Harris, South Gardiner, Clarence Lowell, Portland, Bernard Lynch, and Deering, William Tinsman.
Attending dignitaries will speak before a patriotic song is sung. The benediction will be given by Barnes.
"Remember the Maine" has been echoed by veterans for 110 years. Because a USS Maine ACR-1 Memorial Stone has been placed in Veterans Memorial Park, it has become easier to remember the Maine.
After the service a "Wreath of Enduring Memory" will be laid at the USS Maine Memorial Stone, weather and access permitting.

Four ships of the United States Navy have borne the name USS Maine, named for the 23rd state.

To the Gentlemen, Members of the American Legion Post of Turner, Maine.

Dear Post Historian Paul Bernard & General Membership

I would like to drop you a line and congratulate you in taking the time to remember the veterans and those lost aboard the Maine.

I am with the National Organization of the Sons of Spanish-American War Veterans.

We are a part of the Allied Orders of the United Spanish War Veterans and we will be formally commemorating the veterans and those lost veterans of the Maine this Saturday.

We celebrate Remember the Maine Day every February 15th, I cordially invite you to visit our website, unfortunately our closest camp is here is in Cohoes, New York in Albany County.

I wish to thank you for continuing to remember our fathers, grandfathers, uncles and cousins.

May the memory of the Maine never dim, nor may it ever be foreshadowed on this 110^th anniversary of the sinking.

I remain yours in keeping green the memory of the veterans of 1898-1902,

Raymond W. LeMay III, PCC, PCP, National Sergeant at Arms

Chairman, of the National Survivors Committee of the Widows, Daughters and Sons of Veterans.

Camp President of the Joseph Melvin Leonard Camp No.168, Cohoes, New York

Sons of Spanish-American War Veterans http://www.ssawv.org

Chartered by the United Spanish War Veterans Inc.

rlemay1407@earthlink.net

The first USS Maine (ACR-1), was a second-class pre-dreadnought battleship (launched in 1889, sometimes referred to as an armored cruiser) whose sinking by an explosion, on February 15th 1898, precipitated the Spanish-American War.
The second USS Maine (BB-10), launched in 1901, was the lead ship of her class of battleships. She participated in the voyage of the Great White Fleet, and was decommissioned in 1920 to be sold for scrap in 1923.
The third USS Maine (BB-69) was a Montana class battleship, and was canceled in 1943.
The fourth USS Maine (SSBN-741) was an Ohio class nuclear ballistic missile submarine, launched in 1994 and still in active service as of 2007.

The Maine spent her active career operating along the East Coast of the United States and the Caribbean. In January 1898, the Maine was sent from Key West, Florida, to Havana, Cuba, to protect U.S. interests during a time of local insurrection and civil disturbances. Three weeks later, at 9:40 on the evening of February 15, a terrible explosion on board the Maine shattered the stillness in Havana Harbor.

Later investigations revealed that more than five tons of powder charges for the vessel's six and ten-inch guns ignited, virtually obliterating the forward third of the ship. The remaining wreckage rapidly settled to the bottom of the harbor. Most of the Maine’s crew were sleeping or resting in the enlisted quarters in the forward part of the ship when the explosion occurred. Two hundred and sixty-six men lost their lives as a result of the explosion or shortly thereafter, and eight more died later from injuries. Captain Charles Sigsbee and most of the officers survived because their quarters were in the aft portion of the ship. On March 28, the US Naval Court of Inquiry in Key West declared that a naval mine caused the explosion.

The explosion was a precipitating cause of the Spanish-American War that began in April 1898 and which used the rallying cry, "Remember the Maine!, To hell with Spain!" The episode focused national attention on the crisis in Cuba but was not cited by the William McKinley administration as a casus belli, though it was cited by some who were already inclined to go to war with Spain over their perceived atrocities and loss of control in Cuba.

Vets hold ceremony to 'Remember the Maine'
Monday, April 9, 2007

LEWISTON - Members of area veterans organizations gathered at the Trinity Episcopal Church recently to conduct memorial services commemorating the 109th anniversary of the sinking of the battleship USS Maine in Havana Harbor, Cuba, on Feb. 15, 1898.
The service opened with an invocation by the Rev. Ben Barnes, interim rector at the church. Jerry DerBoghosian, chaplain, Longley-Dionne Post 9150, Veterans of Foreign Wars, read a list of events leading up to the explosion and sinking of the USS Maine. Only 85 of the Maine's crew could be accounted for; 265 were dead and missing. Seven members of the crew were from Maine.
State Sen. Peggy Rotundo and State Rep. Margaret Craven addressed those assembled and patriotic songs were sung followed by the benediction, given by Barnes.

Veterans ask city: Remember the Maine
By Daniel Hartill , Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 18, 2007

LEWISTON - A 498-pound shell recovered from the wreck of the USS Maine will get an honored spot in Veterans' Park, if the money can be found to memorialize the relic.
The city may have a tough time finding the needed $10,000 in a budget with a proposed 10.9 percent tax increase attached. "We're going to do the best we can to assist you," Councilor Normand Rousseau promised at Tuesday's meeting.
The plan to imbed the shell in a granite monument came from the L&A Veterans Council. Chairman Bert Dutil came up with the notion when he noticed that it had disappeared from its former resting place, in the lobby of Lewiston City Hall.
For decades, the shell sat beneath a small plaque that identified it and its origins.
The shell had been on the battleship when it was sunk in Havana Harbor on Feb. 15, 1898. The sinking and the resulting battle cry, "Remember the Maine," helped rally support for the Spanish-American War. Years later, the wreck was raised and relics were removed. The mast was erected in Arlington National Cemetery. Pieces from the bow adorn a monument in Bangor. The U.S. Navy presented the shell to the city of Lewiston on June 24, 1912. When Dutil found it earlier this year, it had been placed in storage by the city. The shell, from the USS Maine's 10-inch gun, is a tangible piece of American history that ought to be displayed for future generations, Dutil said.
He also understands the city's financial pressure. "I feel terrible asking," he said. "But maybe the City Council can find the money." One possibility might be the city's year-end surplus, suggested City Administrator James Bennett. By mid-June, the city ought to know how much of that money will be available. It may be very little. The current draft proposal of the budget calls for $500,000 to be tapped from the surplus. Councilors encouraged Dutil and the group to begin fundraising right away, perhaps tapping private sources first. That would be tough. The veterans council is already fundraising, working on the likely $30,000 bill that will come from September's visit by a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The veterans council hopes to unveil the USS Maine memorial during the visit by the Vietnam wall.

Memorial, stone, bench unveiled at ceremony
Thursday, September 27, 2007

LEWISTON - The Lewiston Auburn Veterans Council hosted a special ceremony to unveil the "Remember the Maine" memorial and the 12th stone honoring veterans on September 1st at the Lewiston Veterans Memorial Park.
The ceremony opened with the National Anthem sung by Melissa Noel. The Rev. Barbara Barth of St. Michael's Church of Auburn gave the invocation and University of Southern Maine professor Joel Eastman provided the history of the USS Maine.
Rear Admiral Kevin McCoy from Washington, D.C., dedicated and unveiled of the new "Remember the Maine" monument.
Tom Trottier of the Veterans of Foreign War Post 1603 gave the three cannon shots while Roger Renaud played taps.
The honor guards were made up of American Legion Post 153, VFW Post 1603 and Franco American War Veterans Post 31.
The three American Legion Commanders who unveiled the 12th stone with the logo of the American Legion were Don Dube, Post 22; Emmet Stuart, Post 153; and Gary Veilleux, Post 210.
Lewiston Mayor Larry Gilbert and Auburn Mayor John Jenkins unveiled the new All-American City bench. Maurice Marquis closed the ceremony with "God Bless America."
More than 200 people attended.