Northern Maine Veterans Cemetery in Caribou to Build a Wall of Honor

For the past 10 years a group of dedicated volunteers led by Harry Hafford, have worked tirelessly to ensure, Maine veterans ,have a proper final resting place. The Northern Maine Veterans Cemetery in Caribou was build on 40 acres of land and is the last home for many of our veterans. Harri Hafford spoke to me about the future of the cemetery.

One of the most important projects the volunteers in charge of beautification of the cemetery is without a doubt the Wall of Honor. The wall, four walls to be exact, will hold more than 300 names of veterans who have been honorably discharged. Each wall represents a branch of our military.

‘The project will break ground by Memorial Day,’ Hafford said. ‘We are about 25 applications short, but I believe we are ready to begin.’

Hafford explained that veterans don’t have to be residents of Maine, the only requirement is to be an active member or honorably discharged. The application fee is $100.

The cemetery is a non-profit organization that needs to raise money for any project they try to do. But Hafford stays optimistic and says that he has met with many generous people who have been supporting the cemetery since day one.

‘I often get people who call me on the phone who ask me to meet with them,’ Hafford said, ‘when I meet with them they always have a check ready for me.’ Hafford continued ‘even the land this cemetery is build on was donated to us and we are very appreciative of the support we get from our community.’

The idea behind the Wall of Honor is to allow family members to honor their loved ones. And every time cemetery visitors stop by they can read the names of all of those people who have served our country.

This Veterans’ Day the Northern Maine Veterans Cemetery will have a special service to honor our veterans. Two keynote speakers will speak during the ceremony.

‘Working at the cemetery makes me happy,’ Hafford said. ‘Knowing that we have a beautiful place for our veterans to rest in peace makes me keep going every day.’