WASHINGTON – Pattie Odencrantz, a nurse from Waterville and the daughter of Rumford veteran Albert “Red” Paul, knew she wanted to volunteer her skills when plans were made for World War II veterans to travel to Washington for the dedication of the National World War II Memorial.

The youngest of these vets were in their late 70s and the oldest in their late 80s. Some might need help.

She also was doing it for her father, much like the sons and daughters of other veterans who made the 14-hour bus trip to D.C.

“How else can I pay them back? We wouldn’t have this nation without them,” she said of the WWII vets. “Even after the war, my father has always led the way in patriotic events, in the color guard, in the organization of the Veterans’ Day parades.”

Odencrantz oversaw the 50 veterans and others in one of the two buses traveling to the nation’s capital.

Loretta Bard, a nurse at the Rumford Veterans’ Clinic, took the reigns in the second bus. She was also the major organizer of the event.

Special honor

Sons and daughters of the WWII vets, some of them Vietnam war veterans themselves, felt a special honor and desire to travel with their aging parents.

Connie Venskus, daughter of Tony Poirier of Rumford, and her brother, Phil of Livermore Falls, made plans for the event.

“I’m so happy to be able to have seen the memorial and for both Phil and me to be with our father,” said Connie.

Robert Bean Jr. of Farmington, a veteran of Vietnam who served in the First Cavalry, escorted his father, Robert Bean Sr., and felt strongly that he should be there.

“I wanted to help him. It was important for him and important for me to be here,” said the Farmington banker.

Francis Dumas Jr. of Augusta, with ties to Rumford, felt similarly about traveling with his father, Francis Dumas Sr.

“This monument is way overdue and me being in ‘Nam, he wanted me to come with him,” said Dumas Jr. who was a Navy Seabee in the late 1960s. “I have two other brothers who were also in ‘Nam. This has been a good experience.”

John Richardson, originally from Rumford and now living in Virginia, along with two sisters, met their mother, Ann Richardson, an Army nurse in Washington. She had provided medical care to both American soldiers and German POWs during the war.

“It’s high time they got around to recognizing the WWII veterans,” he said as he helped his mother, a Rumford resident, onto the shuttle bus.

Orange caps

When the Rumford Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1641 donated 100 blaze orange caps to those traveling to Washington, it’s doubtful they knew what kind of an impact those hunting-type caps would make.

As the 100 local people traveled from place to place, to the Capitol building, to the dedication itself, and to the monument the next day, thousands of other people were doing the same thing. Keeping 100 people together isn’t easy.

But those bright orange caps with “Maine Contingent, World War II” printed in black served as a beacon for any member of the group who got separated. With 500,000 people at the dedication, then thousands trying to catch a shuttle back to a central parking area, finding your fellow groupie was crucial.

The caps also prompted other groups from states throughout the country to make a special effort to talk with the Maine folks. Many of the groups came garbed in blue T-shirts, dark orange caps, bright red caps, or some other color configuration. But nothing quite caught as much attention as those Maine people with their “hunting” caps.

Helpfulness

Vinton Kennedy, who served in the Army in 1945-46 and is originally from Phillips but now lives in Dryden, was particularly impressed with the helpfulness of everyone where the group lodged and at the dedication. He walks with crutches much of the time, but he, like several others who usually walk on their own or with a crutch or two, took advantage of wheelchairs during the chaos caused by 500,000 people being in one place.

“Everyone was so good. It brings faith in human beings back,” he said.

Young soldiers served as escorts at the many parking lots from which people boarded shuttle buses.

Pfc. Bill St. Clair, a graduate of Bridgton Academy in Maine, was one of the hundreds of young soldiers assigned to help during the event. He had been up since 3:30 a.m., helping people onto the shuttles, getting wheelchairs for those who needed them, and passing out water to try to help prevent dehydration in the hot southern sun.

“We’ve heard many war stories. This event is really important to them,” he said.

At the dedication, young soldiers or volunteers passed out bottles of water all afternoon.

Those traveling to Washington without family were helped whenever they needed it. The nurses stepped in if medical attention was needed, but those able to help those less able stepped forward. Doors were opened, wheelchairs pushed, seats given up.

Security was everywhere at the site.

Minor problems

Few problems affected the Maine contingent. One WWII veteran had motion sickness and was re-seated closer to the front of the bus. A wife of a WWII veteran also had a serious bout of motion sickness, but that was taken care of, too.

One soldier, Vinton Kennedy, made it all the way back to Maine to the Kennebunk rest area. There, he fell when his crutches became entwined with the crutches of another veteran. He said he was OK, at about 12:30 a.m. Monday morning, but Bard said on Monday afternoon that Kennedy had broken two ribs and a finger and was admitted to Togus for treatment.

Travelers in one bus got home about an hour earlier than the second bus. Half got back to Rumford at about midnight, while the second didn’t make it until 1 a.m. The second bus had a new driver who had difficulty figuring out the purpose of all the buttons on the dashboard.

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