Maine Memory Network

John Coyne from Waterville Enlists as a Railroad Man in WWI
by Mary D. Coyne

Description of conditions railroad men endured and family background on John Coyne.

Epidemic of violence against Indigenous people
by Michael-Corey F. Hinton

Systemic racism, murder, and the danger of stereotypes

The only letter to survive World War II
by Cyrene Slegona

Only one of many letters my father sent to his wife remained after he came home from World War II.

Margaret Moxa's Blanket Coat
by Jennifer Neptune

A contemporary artwork in memory of Penobscots murdered for scalp bounties.

Protesters spit on me as a Vietnam Veteran
by Joseph Rocque Jr.

I will never forget the horror of seeing all the protestors greeting my plane returning from Vietnam

Portland in the 1940s
by Carol Norton Hall

As a young woman in Portland during WWII, the presence of servicemen was life changing.

Harold's Garage, Rome Hollow, Maine
by Mimi C

Story about Harold Hawes, owner of Harold's garage and self-styled auctioneer in Rome Hollow, Maine

Reverend Thomas Smith of First Parish Portland
by Kristina Minister, Ph.D.

Pastor, Physician, Real Estate Speculator, and Agent for Wabanaki Genocide

A New Beginning for Wabanaki Land Relationships
by John Banks

Wabanaki leadership in land stewardship

How 20 years in the Navy turned me into an active volunteer
by Joy Asuncion

My service didn't end when I retired from the Navy

Hooch Mum and my Vietnam service
by Jim Barrows

A poem about being a medic, saving Vietnamese people and babies. Sometimes we trusted too much.

An enjoyable conference, Portland 2021
by John C. Decker, Danville, Pennsylvania

Some snippets from a 4-day conference by transportation historians in Portland, September 7-11, 2021

The Wall
by Michael Uhl

What it means to have beaten the odds

Service in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan by MAJ Adam R. Cote
by Adam R. Cote

Military Service has had a deep impact my life

An Asian American Account
by Zabrina

An account from a Chinese American teen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

My Journey: Training Service Dogs in Prison
by Anonymous (Maine State Prison)

Inmates at Maine State Prison train dogs as service and companion animals. This is one story.

Vietnam Memoirs
by David Chessey

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES AND MY OBSERVATION OF NATIONWIDE OPINIONS CONCERNING THE “VIET NAM" WAR

Florence Ahlquist Link's WWII service in the WAVES
by Earlene Ahlquist Chadbourne

Florence Ahlquist, age 20, was trained to repair the new aeronautical cameras by the US Navy in WWII

I have thought about Vietnam almost every day for 48 years
by Ted Heselton

Working as a heavy equipment operator in Vietnam

Learning to fly and instructing cadets at West Point during WWII
by Vera Cleaves

West Point during World War II

Tracers
by anonymous

tracers, bonding, and fixations

A Maine Family's story of being Prisoners of War in Manila
by Nicki Griffin

As a child, born after the war, I would hear these stories - glad they were finally written down

History of Forest Gardens
by Gary Libby

This is a history of one of Portland's oldest local bars

My father, Earle Ahlquist, served during World War II
by Earlene Chadbourne

Earle Ahlquist used his Maine common sense during his Marine service and to survive Iwo Jima