Post 54 honors Wiscasset's military veterans on Memorial Day
William Cossette, American Legion Post commander, leads the Pledge of Allegiance at Monday's Memorial Day service. PHIL DI VECE/Wiscasset Newspaper
Tom Stoner, Post 54 bugler, plays “Taps.” Stoner, of Woolwich, is a veteran of the U.S. Navy. PHIL DI VECE/Wiscasset Newspaper
Post 54’s Honor Guard Rifle Squad fires the ceremonial rifle salute. PHIL DI VECE/Wiscasset Newspaper
Neil Page of Wiscasset. PHIL DI VECE/Wiscasset Newspaper 
Post 54 members including American Legion Auxiliary member Diane Munsey pose for pictures in front of Wiscasset's veterans' memorial. PHIL DI VECE/Wiscasset Newspaper 
People gathered in front of the memorial after the rain slackened. PHIL DI VECE/Wiscasset Newspaper
William Cossette, American Legion Post commander, leads the Pledge of Allegiance at Monday's Memorial Day service. PHIL DI VECE/Wiscasset Newspaper
Tom Stoner, Post 54 bugler, plays “Taps.” Stoner, of Woolwich, is a veteran of the U.S. Navy. PHIL DI VECE/Wiscasset Newspaper
Post 54’s Honor Guard Rifle Squad fires the ceremonial rifle salute. PHIL DI VECE/Wiscasset Newspaper
Neil Page of Wiscasset. PHIL DI VECE/Wiscasset Newspaper
Post 54 members including American Legion Auxiliary member Diane Munsey pose for pictures in front of Wiscasset's veterans' memorial. PHIL DI VECE/Wiscasset Newspaper
People gathered in front of the memorial after the rain slackened. PHIL DI VECE/Wiscasset NewspaperMemorial Day dawned gray and rainy Monday, May 25 forcing members of Bradford-Sortwell-Wright Post 54 of the American Legion indoors for their Memorial Day observances. Inside Wiscasset municipal building's hearing room, William Cossette, Post 54 commander, welcomed fellow veterans and community members who had gathered in remembrance of the men and women who served in the armed forces and gave their lives in service to our country.
Cossette began by thanking those attending, saying the Legion appreciated the community’s continued support of Post 54, which was organized over 80 years ago. “What we need more than anything else is for younger veterans to become more involved in the American Legion. As our membership gets older it’s getting harder for us to carry on traditions like placing American flags on the graves of veterans,” he said. Post 54 is also responsible for placing American flags on utility poles downtown, and along routes One and 27.
Following Cossette’s remarks, Post 54’s Honor Guard Rifle Squad marched outdoors to carry out a ceremonial rifle salute. Three shots are fired simultaneously – three volleys in all – to symbolize fallen armed services members who have been properly cared for and honorably laid to rest.
This year’s rifle salute was followed by the playing of "Taps" by Post 54 bugler Tom Stoner of Woolwich, after which two evergreen Wreaths of Remembrance were placed in front of the veteran’s wall which faces Route One. The wreaths symbolize "remembrance, respect, and enduring life" for military members who gave their lives in service to our country. Post 54's hall, about a mile south of the municipal building on Route One, opened its doors to guests for coffee and pastries following the ceremony.
Wiscasset’s veterans’ wall bears the names of local men and women who have served in America’s armed forces during times of war. The wall and Remembrance Walkway have been the focal point of Wiscasset’s Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day ceremonies for many years. The community’s other veterans’ memorial is a large boulder with a bronze plaque affixed to it on the town common off Main Street. Known as the “Sons of Wiscasset Memorial," it was dedicated in 1919 in honor of those who served in the armed forced during World War I.
