MAINETROOPGREETERS.COM |
Honoring Our Heroes
Welcome to the official website for the troops who have transited through Bangor, Maine. This web site is dedicated to each of these troops and to their family members and friends. It currently displays 117,578 pictures and has received over 49.9 million "hits" since January 2007. American Legion Post 200, Vietnam Veterans of America #185 and Mainetroopgreeters.com work together in their quest to support our troops and actively participate in various programs promoted by this site. Any donations made to the address on this website go directly for 'Troop Support'. . Mainetroopgreeters.com became a domestic non-profit in 2005 for the purpose of assisting our troops in areas not being served by the local greeters program. Some members of Mainetroopgreeters.com are troop greeters at Bangor International Airport who wish to go a step further and include the families of these troops whenever possible in their endeavors. This is accomplished in many ways in addition to the presentation of this website. Mainetroopgreeters.com is a separate entity from the Bangor International Airport troop greeters. |
The ORIGINAL website ... with pictures!
To Locate Additional Pictures Click on This Link . |
Email: Mtglegion@Yahoo.com |
"The National Anthem" Performed by Brian Wardwell |
"Daddy, Where You Going?" Performed by Brian Wardwell |
"Military Man" Performed by Brian Wardwell |
"God's Christmas Eagle" Performed by Brian Wardwell |
ANNOUNCEMENT ~ ANNOUNCEMENT ****************************************************** |
A new project has been launched by Mainetroopgreeters.com to honor our troops serving in the Middle East. Upon request and as available, service members who have deployed through Bangor, Maine will be sent embroidered (3X5) American flags to be flown in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc., which they can then send home to their family. Please watch this space for further updates. |
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Visit our new gallery "I Owe Bangor, ME a Visit" at . . which honors those who deployed through Bangor, ME but were unable to return with their unit through Bangor because they were wounded in action. |
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Welcoming our military passing through Bangor International Airport in Bangor, Maine is a dedicated group of veterans and civilians who gather to honor these troops and show gratitude for their sacrifice and that of their families. Many of these greeters began welcoming troops home during Operation Desert Storm in 1991; when troops started arriving home from Bosnia they once again lined the walkway and again when the first flight from Operation Iraqi Freedom returned in May 2003. The greeters consider it an honor to meet and greet our military troops regardless of the weather or time of night and with thunderous ovations and warm welcoming smiles, have greeted over 600,000 troops. A "troop room" provided at no cost by the City of Bangor, is available so troops can satisfy their sweet tooth, obtain reading material, personal care items, or other items that have been donated for the troops. The room was secured through the efforts of Harry Rideout, (See Fisher Award), who also arranged for the telephones. Unicel's senior marketing coordinator, Ryann Tash, made sure that Harry returned to the airport with about a dozen cell phones for the troops to use and included unlimited free minutes. That number has since increased significantly. U.S. Cellular came on board in 2005 with additional phones and Sam's Club has generously provided an endless supply of assorted cookies. Local veterans, many of whom know the feeling of returning home to far less than a heroes welcome, surround the troops with goodwill and lighthearted rapport. It is the greeters mission to make sure that no military person will ever step back onto American soil to an ungrateful nation. These troops have left behind all the comforts of home and most importantly; they have left behind their loved ones. The greeters feel it is an honor and a privilege to welcome them to Bangor, Maine. |
Bangor is frequently the last American soil our troops set foot on before going over seas and the first American soil our troops set foot on when returning to the United States. Mainetroopgreeters.com was established as a domestic non-profit to provide a humble thank you to our troops for their sacrifices and those of their families. To date over 613,000 troops have passed through Bangor making Mainetroopgreeters.com efforts formidable. Anyone wishing to help with this effort may contact Mainetroopgreeters.com. Any assistance would be very much appreciated by our troops. Email: Mtglegion@Yahoo.com |
Debra Daniels stands beside the painting she created honoring all our fallen heroes. |
In a hay field... |
4 miles north of the runway at Bangor International Airport, there is a flag visible to all who fly into or out of the airport. It was erected in memory of two special WW2 veterans and is a tribute to our active duty personnel and all veterans. |
For those of you keeping track of the number of hits here is an update of the information since the site was rebuilt in January 2007: January 2007: 741,619 February 2007: 1,677,037 March 2007: 2,499,508 April 2007: 4,683,887 May 2007: 2,181,533 June 2007 1,928,341 July 2007: 3,772,408 August 2007: 4,464,484 September 2007: 6,534,422 October 2007: 3,582,438 November 2007: 3,095,320 December 2007: 2,078,058 January 2008: 3,652,292 February 2008: 1,640,998 March 2008: 3,999,192 April 2008: 4,037,923 Total 'hits' to date: 49,961,160 |
MAINETROOPGREETERS.COM ARNOLD R. KELLEY AMERICAN LEGION POST 200 VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA #185 . YOUR TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS (TAX ID 01-6016332) ARE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED. Please make checks out to "TROOP SUPPORT FUND" and mail to: . Mainetroopgreeters.com P.O. Box 246 Brewer, Maine 04412 |