Newsletter 1

A Word From The Chairman

Dear MMHS Members:

I hope Santa was good to everyone, and I hope you have a very Happy New Year!

For those who took the time to attend our Annual Meeting this past October, Thank You. It was a pleasure to get so many great suggestions and positive feedback.

This is the time of year where we begin to focus on the upcoming year, implementing plans and programs. There is one significant issue that will affect us all and we need to act.

Our future will change dramatically within the next five to six years. The

museum will need to move out of its present location, not because of space

issues but because the building will no longer be available for our use. This

is due to reorganizations taking place at Camp Keyes. How we rise to this

challenge will determine whether the Society & Museum will continue to

exist as an organization.

We have a duty to continue to preserve Maine’s proud military history, which spans centuries, and to tell the many stories of Maine’s brave servicemen and women and that of their families. We can not let that mission falter.

The Board of Directors and the Facilities and Displays Committee, are just beginning the process of exploring options and courses of action.

In order to prepare for the inevitability of our move, we need to earnestly begin fundraising over the course of the next several years, to grow our membership, and to increase corporate sponsorship. We desperately need you, our members, to rally around this cause and help. Volunteer by serving on one of our committees or get involved with fundraising. Ask how you can help. It’s a critical time in our organization.

Dave

The Patriot News The Newsletter of the Maine Military Historical Society

Volume 2, Issue 3 www.mainemilmuseum.org January - March 2012

and

Maine Military Historical Society

33 State House Station – Camp Keyes

Augusta, Maine 04333-0033

Officers

Chairman: MSG David B. Googins (Ret)

Secretary:

Treasurer: Mrs. Soraya Umphrey

Board of Directors

BG Albert White Jr. (Ret)

COL Donovan Lajoie (Ret)

Mr. Gary Burns

LTC Peter Ogden (Ret)

LTC Dwaine Drummond

MSG Daniel Masessa

CPO David Potter (Ret)

Mrs. Louise Dorr

Historical Advisor

Dr. Thomas Desjardins

Presidents Emeriti

MG Donald H. Marden (Ret)

BG Richard Tuttle (Ret)

COL Donovan Lajoie (Ret)

Newsletter: MSG David Googins (Ret)

Curator: CW5 Ronald Roussel (Ret)

Inside This Issue

1 A Word From the President

2

2

3

3

3

Membership Renewal

Did You Know…..

New Members

Calendar of Events

Dates in Military History

4

4

5

Membership Survey

A Birthday Surprise

Courageous Bridgton Soldier Gave his Life

to Save Fellow Soldiers

Newsletter 2

Membership

Membership renewal reminders went out with the

newsletter in Oct and most recently in Dec.

If you have not had a chance to renew your

membership, please do so. For convenience sake you

may renew online through our website or, if you prefer,

by check through the U.S. Mail.

For those who are Lifetime Members, we really need

your continued support. There are many members

who are Lifetime Members, which equates to no

revenue coming in.

We would like to ask each Lifetime Member to

consider making a donation, either a lump sum or

donating each month in what ever denomination is

comfortable. We need everyone’s support!

Did you Know……..

By Dan Masessa

During the Civil War, the 27th Maine was awarded 864

Medals of Honor, one for every member of the

regiment.

What brave actions did the soldiers of the regiment

perform to deserve such an award? They

volunteered to remain in service after the term of

service of the regiment had expired! As crazy as it

sounds, they actually earned the Medal of Honor as

the law was written at the time.

The story of the 27th Maine and the Medal of Honor is

captured in the book Shower of Stars by Maine author

John J. Pullen. While researching his book about the

20th Maine, John Pullen came across information

indicating the 27th Maine, a group of nine month

volunteers from York County, was issued a Medal of

Honor for every member of the regiment. Seeing how

the famous 20th Maine earned four Medals of Honor at

Little Round Top, how could it be that the 27th earned

over eight hundred medals and then fell into obscurity,

unknown to history?

Shower of Stars is not only an excellent story of the

27th Maine but also a great history of the Medal of

Honor. John Pullen uncovered tons of information

surrounding the controversy of the awarding of the

medal early on and how the law changed to protect

America’s most revered military decoration. The book,

originally published in 1966, has been out of print for a

long time however I highly recommend this book to

anyone interested in the Civil War and/or the Medal of

Honor.

Army Medal of Honor, first design, 1862

Newsletter 3

W E L C O M E N E W M E M B E R S

THE MMHS WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME:

C A L E N D A R O F E V E N T S

BOARD MEETINGS - 2012

PLACE: MMHS MUSEUM

TIME: 4:00 PM, 10 JAN, 14 MAR, 9 MAY, 12 JUN, 12 SEP, 10,

OCT, 14 NOV

VOLUNTEER DAY – 2011 -2012

PLACE: MMHS MUSEUM

TIME: 4:00 PM, EVERY OTHER WEDNESDAY. SEE CALENDAR OF

EVENTS AT WWW.MAINEMILMUSEUM.ORG FOR MORE INFO AND TO

SIGN UP.

2012 HERITAGE TOUR

PLACE: TBD

TIME: OCTOBER TBD

ANNUAL MEETING/BANQUET - 2012

PLACE: TBD

TIME: OCTOBER TBD

Know of a special event? Please let us know so that we

can inform our membership.

Dates in Military History

JANUARY

1781 – American forces under BG Daniel Morgan defeated the British at

Cowpens, SC.

1782 – British Troops withdraw from Wilmington, SC.

1815 – MG Andrew Jackson defeated British Troops at the Battle of New

Orleans.

1862 – The first union Ironclad warship, the USS Monitor was launched in

New York City.

1943 – The last Japanese troops were forced of the island of Guadalcanal by

US troops.

1966 – US plans resumed bombing of North Vietnamese targets after a 37 day

pause.

1968 – Beginning of the Tet Offensive by the Viet Cong in South Vietnam.

FEBRUARY

1676 – Indians led by Wamponoag Indian Chief King Philip attacked a

settlement at Lancaster, MA during King Philip’s War.

1704 – Abenaki Indians attacked the frontier settlement at Deerfield, MA,

massacring more than 50 people.

1836 – Mexican General Santa Anna began his siege of the Alamo with

approximately 3,000 troops. 187 defenders held out until March 6, when

surviving defenders were massacred.

1898 – The Battleship Maine is sunk in Havana Harbor, Cuba.

1942 – A Japanese Submarine surfaced off the coast of Ellwood, California,

shelling the coastline. Little damage was done.

1943 – Women’s Marine Corps Auxiliary established.

1945 – U.S. Marines begin the invasion of Iwo Jima.

MARCH

1770 – The Boston Massacre took place, the British killing 3 men and mortally

wounding 2 others.

1802 – Congress established the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY.

1814 – U.S. Troops under General Andrew Jackson defeated Creek Indians at

the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, AL, ending the Creek War.

1942 – The first American “Seabees” saw action in New Caledonia.

1960 – First Women Paratrooper

1965 – First U.S. ground combat force, the 3500 man 9th Marine

Expeditionary Brigade, arrived at Danang, South Vietnam.

Newsletter 4

Online Membership Survey

On our website, we have posted an online survey for

our members to take. As mentioned in “Words from the

Chairman”, this will help us in getting this year’s

activities put together based on our members input.

There will also be space provided for any additional

comments on how we may serve you better, ideas you

may have for the museum, or whatever you would like

to comment on.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Birthday Surprise

In October the family of a World War II veteran, surprised him with a visit to Camp Keyes to celebrate his 90th birthday. Harry Grimm was a medium tank driver and had the urge for a number of years, to see a newer tank. So the family had made arrangements for him to visit the tank parked out side of Camp Keyes, which he nimbly climbed aboard. He was also presented with an award, by State CSM Terry Harris and SGM Shawn Thibodeau. Later he was provided a tour of our museum by Ron Roussel. Harry Grimm enlisted in the U.S. Army on June 1, 1942, and was honorably discharged on Nov 1, 1945. He was a tank driver in the 7th Armored Division, serving in the Battle of the Bulge and all over Europe. While his unit was capturing a town in France, he ran into an enemy convoy. After destroying the convoy and going through some of the enemy vehicles that remained, a cache of weapons was discovered in the back of a truck and were liberated by our troops. A couple of weeks after his birthday celebration, Harry Grimm came into the museum with the Walther PPK pistol he liberated that day and donated it to the museum. Thank You, Mr. Grimm.

.

That’s right! The MMHS is now on Facebook! Stop by and “Like” us!

Admin Note

Please be sure to keep us up to date. Send in any changes

to your address or email address. It’s important that we

keep our records as current as possible.

Please drop an email to Tammy Googins at

Tammy@publicoversecurity.com, or contact us at

www.manemilmuseum.org.

Newsletter 5

helped the wounded aboard. As they pulled away, the

enemy directed small-arms fire at the driver. At that point,

Libby (realizing that no one else could operate the vehicle),

used his body as a shield to protect the driver. During this

action he received several bullet wounds in his arms and

torso. As the tractor continued through the town, it made

frequent stops as Libby helped more wounded aboard.

Finally at the last roadblock, he continued to shield the

driver with his wounded body, as it received more bullet

wounds. Refusing first aid, he held that position until he lost

consciousness and died. According to the U.S. Army’s

citation, “SGT Libby’s sustained, heroic actions enabled his

comrades to reach friendly lines. His dauntless courage

and gallant self-sacrifice reflect the highest credit upon

himself and uphold the esteemed traditions of the U.S.

Army.” His body was returned to the United States and

buried in Section 34, Lot 1317, at Arlington National

Cemetery.

Today several monuments in his name are located in the

United States, such as an elementary school in California

and a monument in Waterbury, Connecticut. But perhaps it

is the 1000-foot Libby Bridge over the Imjin River in Korea

that is the most poetic. The bridge forms a connection

between the village of Chang-Pa-ri (in the south), the

Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), and North Korea.

SGT George D. Libby

Foot Note: The Libby NCO Academy at the U.S. Army

Engineer School, Ft Leonard Wood in Missouri is named

for SGT Libby.

Courageous Bridgton Soldier Gave his

Life to Save Fellow Soldiers

From Discover Maine, Volume 7, Issue 10

By James Nalley

On June 25th, 1950, after the North Koreans attacked South

Korea, elements of the U.S. Army’s 24th Infantry Division

were the first to arrive. Known as “Task Force Smith”, it

consisted of the 1st Battalion, an infantry regiment, anti-tank

teams, and members of Charlie and Delta Companies.

According to the U.S. Army, the orders were simple: “When

reaching Taejon, move north…stop them where you find

them.” Included in this task force was a sergeant who had

already survived combat in World War II, but felt honored to

re-enlist for Korea. Within a month, his heroic actions would

resemble something out of a movie and would also make him

the first Congressional Medal of Honor recipient during the

Korean War.

George D. Libby was born on December 4, 1919 in Bridgton.

After honorable service during World War II, he re-entered

the army in Waterbury, Connecticut, as a member of Charlie

Company in the 3rd Engineering Combat Battalion of the 24th

Infantry Division. For the first 18 months of the war, the

division was heavily engaged on the front lines against both

North Korean and Chinese forces. By the wars end, its

casualties exceeded 10,000.

One of the early battles in the Korean War was the Battle of

Taejon (a major city and transportation center) that occurred

form July 14-21, 1950. Army forces attempted to defend the

headquarters of the 24th Infantry Division which were under

attack by North Korean forces. The 24th Infantry, already

exhausted from the previous two weeks of fighting, tried to

make a final stand near Taejon by holding a line along the

Kum River, east of the city. Hampered by a lack of

communications and heavy weapons, the American forces

were outnumbered and pushed back from the river bank.

Although they could not hold the city, the 24th Infantry

Division achieved a strategic victory by delaying the North

Koreans, thus providing time for other American divisions to

establish a defensive perimeter around Pusan further south.

On July 20, 1950 Sergeant Libby was riding in a truck in the

Pusan Perimeter. As his vehicle approached an enemy

roadblock it encountered tremendous enemy fire, which

disabled the truck and killed or wounded each of the

passengers except for Libby. After exiting the truck, he took

cover in a ditch. As the enemy continued to fire its weapons

at the truck and road, he crossed the same road twice to

administer first aid to his wounded fellow soldiers. Afterwards,

he hailed a passing M-5 artillery tractor and one by one,

Newsletter 6

PRESORTED

US POSTAGE

PAID

AUGUSTA, ME

PERMIT #114

33 State House Station – Camp Keyes

Augusta, ME 04333-0033

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

P L E A S E V I S I T O U R P R E F E R R E D

V E N D O R S

As we get corporate sponsors, we will list these as preferred

places to shop.

Letter From the Editor

We need Your Input!

We would like to ask all members for their personal

stories, histories, pictures or events that they would

like to have published within these pages. Maybe you

have a funny story about Annual Training or a story

about deployment or you would like to tell someone

else’s story.

Articles should be no more than 300 words. Any

photos submitted should be JPG or BMP.

Please submit any articles or comments to:

Dave.Googins@mainemilmuseum.org