{"id":5799,"date":"2019-03-15T09:51:13","date_gmt":"2019-03-15T13:51:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/?p=5799"},"modified":"2025-08-22T19:36:03","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T23:36:03","slug":"respect-for-the-fallen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/2019\/03\/15\/respect-for-the-fallen\/","title":{"rendered":"Respect for the Fallen"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

The four retirees stand proudly around their comrade_s grave. From left to right_ Sgt. William Caron, Cpl. Arnold Gahagan, Trooper Kim Espling and Cpl. Bert Ouellette. Not seen, Troop F leader Brian Harris.<\/p><\/div>\n

Just like he\u2019s done thousands of times before, Hubert Ouellette laces up his boots.\u00a0 The state police issued black leather is cracking, showing their wear.\u00a0 He\u2019s suited up for his job many times, but never for a task like this.<\/p>\n

Temperatures circling zero degrees and waist-deep snow could not stop Maine State Police Troop F.\u00a0 Four retired officers and one active dug out their snowshoes, an extra pair of socks and a few holiday wreaths.\u00a0 Paying no attention to the cold, the group honored lost officers by visiting their graves for the holidays and leaving the wreaths behind.<\/p>\n

Retired officers Cpl. Arnie Gahagan of Caribou, Cpl. Hubert Ouellette of Caribou, Trooper Kim Espling of Woodland, Sgt. Bill Caron of Fort Kent and current Troop F leader Lt. Brian Harris of Houlton ventured out on Dec. 13 to decorate the headstones of their fallen brothers.\u00a0 Harris arranged the event, and the four retirees made it happen.<\/p>\n

They visited eight graves at six different cemeteries.\u00a0 All graves belong to fallen members of Troop F.\u00a0 Ouellette\u2019s wife Janet speaks to the bond of troop members.\u00a0 \u201cThe wives, the children and the families of these guys are so close knit and always have been.\u00a0 So few understand what we go through.\u00a0 For these five guys to go out in the cold to do something so kind– it\u2019s like they\u2019re doing it for the family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Troop F members both active and retired still meet regularly.\u00a0 They have monthly breakfasts, holiday parties or formal dinners that spark conversations that last long into the night.<\/p>\n

While walking, the five men exchanged war stories. \u00a0They laughed as they remembered their fallen.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt each grave we\u2019d take a short break,\u201d Ouellette said.\u00a0 \u201cOnce we caught our breath, we would talk about each guy, tell a story or two. \u00a0And every time we ended up laughing.\u00a0 State police are a unique bunch.\u00a0 We have dealt with and seen so many bad things.\u00a0 It really makes life easier when you can laugh through the bad memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Snow was so deep in some areas that the officers were forced to dig out the stones: not a challenge for these guys.\u00a0 Harris led the way with snowshoes. \u00a0The other men followed in his tracks.\u00a0 Approximately eight hours of walking in knee-deep snow would not be an easy task for young men.\u00a0 But the hardened members of Troop F trotted on.\u00a0 Many of them would serve today if asked.\u00a0 Although the weather was discussed, there were no complaints about the cold or snow–the toughest of the tough.<\/p>\n

\u201cEagle Lake was by far the worst,\u201d Ouellette admitted after the walk.\u00a0 \u201cIt was at least a quarter mile of snow beyond your knees, and it was all uphill.\u00a0 There were no roads or trails at any of the cemeteries either.\u00a0 Brian walked ahead of us in snowshoes and the four of us tried to stay in his footprints.\u201d<\/p>\n

A gesture of both holiday giving and respect for a brother, the wreaths represent honor.\u00a0 The men still fortunate enough to be spreading the wreaths are up for the job. \u00a0As Janet Ouellette said, its like they\u2019re doing it for family.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just like he\u2019s done thousands of times before, Hubert Ouellette laces up his boots.\u00a0 The state police issued black leather is cracking, showing their wear.\u00a0 He\u2019s suited up for his job many times, but never for a task like this. Temperatures circling zero degrees and waist-deep snow could not stop Maine State Police Troop F.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7381],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/170"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5799"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8504,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5799\/revisions\/8504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}