Let us tell it like it is. A couple of letters appeared in your paper recently and it was sad to read that only one person, John Paradis, was mentioned.

All due respect to Mr. Paradis, we need to give credit where credit is due.

Mr. Paradis wrote letters and got petitions signed for the park across from the courthouse on Lisbon Street to be named for the veterans. The City Council decided otherwise and offered us the Heritage Park and that park was renamed Veterans Memorial Park, and Mr. Paradis has been honored many times over for that work.

Mr. Bertrand Dutil, chairman of the L&A Veterans Council, was the one who played a key role in the creation of this beautiful park the way it looks today. It was his unselfish commitment and dedication to this major project that must never be forgotten. The seven stones with over 1,500 names honoring those who served or are presently serving this country, the six new flagpoles and flags, and, most recently, the 9-foot “Price of Freedom” monument is the work of Bertrand Dutil, his officers and several members of the veterans’ organizations in the area that are members of the L&A Veterans Council.

Therefore, it is not just the work of one man, Mr. Paradis. Let us give credit where credit is due.

Georgette (Gerry) Cain,

past president,

Women Marines Association, Lewiston

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