Friends of Winslow-Holbrook Memorial Veteran's Park

Veteran’s abandoned body scheduled for burial; pallbearers, attendees requested AUGUSTA — Gerry R. Brooks, 86 of Augusta, passed away on May 18, 2024 at Glenridge, in Augusta. He is a Veteran of the United States Marine Corps and has been abandoned at the funeral home since his passing. In an effort to respectfully lay him to...

We welcome you to join us this Memorial Day Weekend at our Maine Veterans' Cemeteries as we remember and honor our brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

Additionally, please feel free to comment on this post any events happening in your area this Memorial Day Weekend.

Please note that our offices will be closed Monday, May 27th in observance of Memorial Day.

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services has expanded eligibility for children and young adults under 21 in Maine to include an annual salary of about $59,000 for a family of two and $90,000 for a family of four. Additionally, the Department eliminated most premiums for children’s coverage.

Check your eligibility:

Yay! Come in and see our Touch Tank !!!! We have many new specimens in our tank thanks to Neil Payson, fisherman and a former educator . Neil is just passionate about learning, and makes sure our touch tank has many critters for children to learn about. We just are so grateful for his help !!!

This is our new Crabby friend…this beauty is an Atlantic Rock Crab! Thanks Neil!!!

Saturday, March 25th - American Legion Auxiliary, Department of Maine, Women Veterans Advisory Committee and Brunswick American Legion Post 20 are hosting the 2nd Annual Women Veterans Luncheon.

Cost: Free!
RSVP by March 22nd.

Free Cleanings for Veterans! -- Call 207-262-7872 or visit uma.edu/smilingvets to schedule an appointment!

On , we recognize fabled painter and host of the PBS instructional show "The Joy of Painting," Bob Ross. Bob spent twenty years in the Air Force. He reached the rank of master sergeant before retiring in 1981.

UPDATE: All slots have been filled for our Drum Making Class. Thank you!

Please join us at our Drum Making Class on Wednesday, January 25th! WPHW is hosting a drum making class for all Vets and only 10 spots are available for Veterans to register. The class will be fun, educational, and memorable. It will take place on Indian Island.

To register and sign up for the class, please visit: bit.ly/3FjTMoh

⛷Monday, March 13th: Free Skiing for Veterans & their loved ones courtesy of Black Mountain of Maine and Veteran Wellness Excursions.

Includes free access to alpine, uphill & nordic skiing, snowboarding, tubing, and snowshoeing!

We are pleased to welcome Girl Scout Troop 1072 to our ceremony this year.

Today at University of Maine at Augusta from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM come hear from student veteran alumnus, Ryan Stovall: Poet, Author, Green Beret.

Check it out if you can

We're excited to announce starting next Sunday breakfast is back! We will be serving breakfast every other Sunday from 8-9:30! See you all there 🥞

On November 1st, the Maine Bureau of Veterans' Service in partnership with the Maine Arts Commission will co-host Veterans in the Arts and Humanities Day at the State House - Hall of Flags at 2:00 p.m.

This event will honor Maine's veteran artists whose works will hang in the Cross Building through December; reveal the State of Maine Honorable Service Plaque, which honors all Maine veterans, past and present, regardless of their branch or era of service and was created by Georgette L. Kanach of Gray, Maine, and the Maine Quilts of Valor Foundation will make presentations of their homemade quilts to several veterans.

On Veterans Day, November 11, 2022, Hannaford Supermarkets will offer all veterans, active military, reserve, and service members a 10% discount on all purchases.

Veterans Day 2022 free meals, discounts and offers - VA News These Veterans Day free meals, discounts and other programs are for Veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors are aware of all resources available to them.

The Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Services (MBVS) is pleased to announce Steven Lanning of Raymond has been promoted to serve as the Bureau’s the Deputy Director. Lanning has been with MBVS since his retirement from the Army in 2017. During this time, he has worked as Office Associate II and Veterans Services Officer in the Portland Field Office, the Supervisor of the Veterans Services’ Claims Section, and Acting Deputy Director.

“Steven exemplifies the qualities desired in a leader and has earned the respect of his co-workers for his team building abilities and strategies to improve veterans’ services. He is decisive, innovative, supportive, and resourceful.” Noted Director David Richmond, “I am excited for the Bureau, because Steven always has his eye on improving systems and services for veterans, and I know that will continue to have outstanding results for Maine for years to come.”

Lanning has a long history of military service and is Army veteran of 20 years with multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, with two tours in Korea. He has held every leadership position from Team Leader to First Sergeant. His awards include the Bronze Star with 1 Oak Leaf Custer, Major General Audrey “Red” Newman Award, and Sergeant Audie Murphy Award.

“Joining the Bureau after transitioning out of the Army was an easy choice for me,” said Lanning. “The opportunity to work with veterans is an honor and it is my goal to ensure that all veterans that return or come to Maine are connected to the benefits that they earned from their service.”
To find the Veterans’ Services Office nearest to you, please visit maine.gov/veterans/veterans-services-offices. You can also call the Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Services at 207-287-7020 or visit their website www.maine.gov/veterans to learn more about available resources.

Veterans are encouraged to pre-register for the 2022 Mobile Homeless Veterans Stand Down by calling the Bureau's Homeless Veterans Coordination Team at 207-287-7019 or email [email protected].

The Bureau is also accepting referrals for this year's Stand Down from community organizations, law enforcement, veterans organizations, medical and mental health providers, friends and family. Each stand down will offer connection to housing, benefits (state and federal), winter clothes and boots, non-perishable food, haircuts, employment opportunities, interaction with community organizations, and a free lunch at the following locations:

October 12 - Togus Campus (1 VA Center, Augusta) from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

October 19 - Portland Hannaford (295 Forrest Avenue) from
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

October 26 - Sanford Vet Center (628 Main Street, Springvale) from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Veterans are encouraged to pre-register for the 2022 Mobile Homeless Veterans Stand Down by calling the Bureau's Homeless Veterans Coordination Team at 207-287-7019 or email [email protected].

The Bureau is also accepting referrals for this year's Stand Down from community organizations, law enforcement, veterans organizations, medical and mental health providers, friends and family. Each stand down will offer connection to housing, benefits (state and federal), winter clothes and boots, non-perishable food, haircuts, employment opportunities, interaction with community organizations, and a free lunch from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at the following locations:

October 5 - Ellsworth in the Reny’s parking lot
(175 High Street).

October 12 - Togus Campus (1 VA Center, Augusta)
from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

October 19 - Portland Hannaford (295 Forrest
Avenue) from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

October 26 - Sanford Vet Center (628 Main Street,
Springvale) from 10:00 a.m. -
2:00 p.m.

The Maine Bureau of Veterans' Services is a recent award recipient of a $750,000 Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Su***de Prevention Grant Program from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs - https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/ssgfox-grants/

“The Bureau is very pleased to receive this grant. It will allow us to make direct and more effective connections for veterans in need of mental health resources and care in our state and it will also allow our Bureau to help veterans in our state access all of the benefits they have earned through their service.” said Director David Richmond, “We are fortunate to have a team of dedicated partners made up of state and federal agencies, non-profit and veterans service organizations, all working hard to end veterans’ suicide—everyone of us knows that this is mission number one and that we must find a way to succeed.”

With its SSG Fox SPGP award, the Bureau plans to provide positive connection to clinical and veterans benefits resources for veterans who are seeking care through medical providers in our state; In short, to provide a warm hand off of the veteran from a medical provider to clinical outpatient support resources as well as assistance from Bureau staff in accessing other federal and state veterans’ benefits. Stay tuned for future posts about grant programing as it develops.

The Maine Bureau of Veterans' Services wishes the Air Force Happy Birthday on its 75th anniversary.

The Maine Bureau of Veterans' Services pauses today to remember the 11 Mainers who remain unaccounted for and the families who wait for them.

"National POW/MIA Recognition Day was established in 1979 through a proclamation signed by President Jimmy Carter. Since then, each subsequent president has issued an annual proclamation commemorating the third Friday in September as National POW/MIA Recognition Day.

A national-level ceremony is held on every National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Traditionally held at the Pentagon, it features members from each branch of military service and participation from high-ranking officials.

In addition to the national-level ceremony, observances of National POW/MIA Recognition Day are held across the country on military installations, ships at sea, state capitols, schools and veterans' facilities.

No matter where they are held, these National POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremonies share the common purpose of honoring those who were held captive and returned, as well as those who remain missing."

To learn more about the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency go to - https://www.dpaa.mil/

Don't forget to sign up for the Veterans and Family Outdoor Expo on Saturday, September 24th from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at the Cabela's parking lot in Scarborough, ME for the inaugural Veterans and Family Outdoor Expo.

There will be free pulled pork lunch for veterans and their families (curtesy of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine), ongoing raffle drawings on the hour and half hour for gun safes (curtesy of Maine's veterans' service organizations), and patriotic plaques, a co****le board, and a firepit (curtesy of our friends at the Maine Department of Corrections) throughout the day!

Bring your DD Form 214 or pre-register at https://bit.ly/3dpNhpN

Confirmed participating organizations include:

Maine Bureau of Veterans' Services, VA Maine Healthcare System, Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Maine American Legion, VFW Department of Maine, Maine DAV, Paralyzed Veterans of America, New England Chapter, Operation ReBoot OutDoors, House In The Woods, Veterans Upward Bound Maine, Maine Paws for Veterans f/k/a Embrace A Vet, Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc., Veteran's Adaptive Sports & Training, 211 Maine, Sweetser, Wabanaki Public Health & Wellness, Martin's Point Health Care, Travis Mills Foundation, Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, Scarborough, Maine Fire Department, Scarborough Maine Police Department, Maine National Guard, and Maine's Vet Centers.