PARIS – Arthur T. Cyr has been named Veteran of the Month at the Maine Veterans Home in South Paris.

Cyr, a Maine native, is a veteran of the Korean War. Born into a large family in the Mexico-Rumford area, he hunted and worked in the woods with his father, using a bucksaw and crosscut saw.

At the age of 18, Cyr decided he wanted something different and on Feb. 21, 1951, he joined the U.S. Army and he was sent to Fort Jackson, S.C., for training. Cyr joined the 31st Division, also known as the “Dixie Division.”

Formed in 1917, it was made up of mobilized National Guard troops from Alabama, Florida and Georgia and various branches of the Army, such as infantry, artillery and engineers. Cyr remembers it as a real change for a farm boy from Maine.

After training, Cyr was sent to Korea to fight in the three-year war that began in June 1950 when North Korean forces attacked South Korea positions below the 38th parallel.

Cyr said daylight was spent staying out of sight as the enemy had a great view of the U.S. trenches. Nighttime was spent digging out the trenches. He recalls one particular incident when mortars were being dropped all around. He and a buddy decided to head for a nearby bunker only to have an 85mm mortar hit right where they had been standing minutes before.

Cyr was wounded during such an attack when a grenade exploded in front of him. Not realizing the extent of his injuries, he managed to get off the line and get medical attention at a mobile army surgical hospital unit. He said there was little resemblance between the popular television series, “MASH,” and the real thing. He was later sent to Tokyo for more medical treatment.

Cyr was honorably discharged on Feb. 22, 1954, receiving the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Korean Service Medal. He attributes his ability to survive under such circumstances to keeping a level head, training and maintaining a sense of humor.

After his discharge, Cyr raced stock cars for the next several years at Oxford Plains. He then decided to take up flying, eventually getting his pilot’s license. He is a resident of the “A” unit.