Lionel Lamontagne, the grand marshal of the Veterans Day parade in Saco and Biddeford, places a wreath during a ceremony Monday at Veterans Park in Biddeford. Lamontagne served in the U.S. Navy and served two tours in Vietnam from 1968 to 1972. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer
BIDDEFORD — Keith Batson doesn’t miss working in the hot, humid engine rooms of the USS La Moure County. He does miss the camaraderie of his fellow sailors.
Since the 51-year-old Desert Storm veteran returned to Maine, he has sought out that Biddeford community again.
Batson solemnly saluted the flag Monday morning as the Biddeford High School marching band played the national anthem at Veterans Memorial Park. The ceremony capped the annual Veterans Day parade between the twin cities of Biddeford and Saco. Mayor Martin Grohman, who spoke at the ceremony, said there are 1,558 veterans living in Biddeford and a similar number in Saco.
Batson, who lives near the park on Pool Street, said he has spoken with Grohman about how younger veterans like himself can get involved with local groups such as the American Veterans (AMVETS) and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Parades like these help raise their profile, he said.
Batson served in the Navy from 1990 to 1996 and said he noticed a large presence of York County veterans who served in World War II and the Vietnam War, but he hasn’t had much contact with people his age.
He pointed to the teenagers in uniform from the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.
“If these kids and (men and women) from my era don’t participate, then it will disappear,” he said.
People watching the parade waved American flags as they cheered on local law enforcement officers, marching school bands and scout troops. A scout stepped onto the sidewalk to hand a thank you card to a man wearing a military cap.
Batson, who wore a leather vest decorated with Navy patches, said some people also approached him with gratitude for his service. But the most deserving recognition, he said, are the spouses and family members who supported their loved ones while they served.
“I’m not the type of vet who thinks I deserve any kind of extra recognition,” Batson said. “I served. I performed a task that I felt I was called to do.”
After the parade, a crowd gathered in the park to listen to the speeches and music and to watch the wreath-laying ceremony.
As an honorary member of the Vietnam Veterans of America post, Grohman said his goal is to bring more veterans to Biddeford.
“We will do that together by improving communication, breaking down the walls that exist between veterans organizations and the city, and just making sure that we can be the best destination that we can be,” Grohman said in his speech.
Maine is home to more than 100,000 veterans, according to a statement from Sen. Susan Collins’ office. Pam Buck, who works in Collins’ office, read the statement aloud during the ceremony.
“We are fortunate to live in a state where so many have served our nation, where so many have united to support them,” Collins wrote in a statement. “The people of Maine have always repaid their debt to our veterans with generosity and caring.”
That means Maine has one of the highest numbers of veterans per capita in the country, Gov. Janet Mills said in a news release Monday.
“Maine veterans teach us all to cherish our rights and remember those who gave their lives for these freedoms,” Mills said in the statement. “They teach us to remember that our sons and daughters today stand ready to defend those same rights in posts around the world. They teach us the strong sense of responsibility that comes from hard work and hard times.”
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