PARIS — Philip E. Hedges Jr. is Veteran of the Month at the Maine Veterans’ Home.

Hedges was born in Natick, Massachusetts, on July 28, 1933, and graduated from Fryeburg Academy in 1952.

In July 1952 he enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard and was stationed in Massachusetts and Portland, Maine.

He was trained at the U.S. Coast Guard Receiving Center in Cape May, New Jersey, in 1952 from July 22 to Oct. 22.

From 1952 to 1953 he served on the U.S. Coast Guard Matagorda as a seaman apprentice. From March 1953 to November 1953 he served on the Coast Guard Yakutat. He served on the U.S. Coast Guard Group Gloucester from November 1953 to March 1955. He earned the rank Boatswains Mate 3rd Class on Aug. 16, 1955. He served on the U.S. Coast Guard Acushnet from March 1955 to July 1956.

He was honorably discharged from the Coast Guard on Dec. 17, 1958.

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In December 1958 he enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve and served on the U.S. Marine Corps Landing Craft in June 1960. He also served in the Maritime Union as a deckhand.

He was honorably discharged on June 5, 1968.

After leaving the service, he worked in TV and theater, doing plays and commercials for Public Utilities and the State Immunization program. He worked at Portland Stage Co. and the Chamber Theatre of Maine, as well as for Dee Cooke at a casting agency.

He went to the Bangor Theological Seminary for two years to become a minister, before working as a computer analyst for seven years at Bath Iron Works.

He then drove truck for two years for Victory Express in Midway, Ohio, before becoming self-employed.

He married Evie Barnes and they were together for 50 years. They traveled to the Southwest to visit friends and liked it there, so they stayed for 25 years before deciding to move back to Maine.

Hedges came to Maine Veterans’ Home in May 2015 and resides on the Residential Care Unit.


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