October - December 2017

Part one of a three-part series commemorating the WWI Maine aviator 100 years ago: After days of rain, Wednesday, April 4, 1917, dawned bright, clear, and brisk. It was a perfect day for a parade to make its way through downtown Bangor. Many thousands of men and women from civic, fraternal, and military contingents marched, while many thousands more lined the streets of the Queen City and cheered the participants on. Dubbed "Patriotic Day" by its organizers, this massive event sought to engage citizens in the major happening of the day, The Great War. Cities and towns across the state held similar events, all in response to heightening hostilities between the United States and the German Empire, particularly over the issue of unrestricted submarine warfare. Mainers, with their rich maritime history, readily identified with the rights of ships to sail freely on the world's seas without opposition or restriction.