Published in the Current
Maine Medical Center wants to expand its presence in Scarborough and is hoping to have at least one new building open in mid-2006. It may also acquire land adjacent to its existing campus to expand further in the future.
Speaking to members of the Scarborough Chamber of Commerce, Maine Med CEO Vincent Conti said the hospital’s site on Route 1 “is going to be a growth area for us.”
There are now three buildings on the eight-acre lot, including a 100,000-square-foot medical office and laboratory, a 55,000-square-foot medical research building and an 80,000-square-foot medical office building.
Conti, who lives in Cape Elizabeth, said the location is a good one in terms of access and parking, both of which are issues for the hospital’s main campus on Bramhall Hill in Portland.
Because of that, and because of available space on the site – enough to add\ three more buildings and a parking garage – Maine Med wants to move its outpatient surgery services to Scarborough, Conti said.
That is expected to be the first phase of the project because of increased demand for day surgery and because existing facilities, at Brighton FirstCare on Brighton Avenue in Portland and at the main hospital itself are already feeling a space crunch, Conti said
“Surgery is very much going in the direction of outpatient,” Conti said. And as for the space at Brighton, “we have outgrown it.”
The new building will house 10 operating rooms for day surgery procedures, which are typically less invasive and smaller-scale than inpatient surgery. It will also hold some additional services that might be needed if the smaller procedures develop complications, Conti said.
“Most outpatient surgery doesn’t turn into inpatient care,” Conti said, adding that Maine Med already has a functioning outpatient surgery facility at Brighton, which is also some distance from the hospital.
With the new Scarborough building will come an increased need for parking, Conti said. That’s where the garage comes in. It will be built as far back from Route 1 as is possible on the lot, which drew praise from chamber member Fred Kilfoil, owner of the Millbrook Motel on Route 1.
“I’ve never seen an attractive parking garage,” he said.
State Rep. Harold Clough, who had reviewed an initial plan for the site, asked about whether underground parking was still being considered.
Conti said it wasn’t because of the expense and the fact that an above-ground garage would provide enough parking on the site.
Before it can build the operating rooms proposed, Maine Med needs to prove to the state that it needs the space, Conti said, which can take as long as a year. That process has not yet begun. The project would also require site plan approval from the town.
Maine Med is also reviewing what it could do with the space at Brighton that would be emptied when the existing operating rooms move, Conti said. New England Rehab Hospital already occupies a lot of the space at Brighton and might expand, he said.
Also, Conti is looking at moving other services from the Bramhall Hill facility over to Brighton. “At this point we’re looking at a number of different options,” he said.
Conti said Maine Med might also look into purchasing a lot just south of the existing property, for possible additional expansion in Scarborough.
Thursday, December 26, 2002
Commentary: Gift of love for a newborn
Published in the Current
It’s my first Christmas as an uncle. My sister gave birth to little Aidan in mid-October, and even at the tender young age of two-and-a-half months, he is in for a holiday treat.
Some of the boxes under the tree are likely to be larger than he is, and many of them, like a book he will receive from me, won’t be used by him on his own for years. (I expect to read it aloud to him soon after the holiday hurry passes.)
It’s not like he really needs anything material. That young, he has no requirements aside from a warm set of arms to hold him, milk from his mother or a bottle, and a regular – even frequent – change of diapers.
But we in the family are likely to keep looking for the Perfect Book or the Perfect Toy. Perhaps even the Perfect Crib or the Perfect Baby Carrier, replacing models previously thought top-of-the-line, will appear under the tree come Dec. 25. We will spend our hard-earned money on things Aidan may use, like money for college or a new outfit. We’ll miss the mark with other gifts and find that he never uses them. And of course there will be the toys, mobiles and trinkets all families want kids to play with.
But why do we insist, this early in his life, on showering him with material goods? In part, it’s selfish: I notice my own glee as I wander through stores, wondering what I might find that I want Aidan to have. All of us, the grown-ups in his life, hope that he will never want for anything, and plan to do our part.
But we, like all members of expanding families, risk missing the point on the things he really will need as a growing boy: attention, love, support and encouragement.
Rather than buy him a book or a toy, I could clap along with him as he coos and gurgles. Spending time, with him and other loved ones, is more important than spending money.
And yet the gifts we give are symbols of our love for each other, efforts to make the lives of our friends and family somehow easier, better or more fun. I have found myself in more than one store, debating inside my head whether this is something that I really want to buy.
I try to remember to resist the urges and not let spending money on my nephew substitute for spending time with him. He’s a glorious young boy who, I fear, will grow up far too fast for any of us to really handle. There will always be more books, more toys and more things-that-look-weird-and-make-noise to buy, but there will not always be more time to be with Aidan.
And I hope we all keep in mind what Aidan’s holiday packages truly should contain: not replacements for affection or simple bribes to satisfy spoiled children, but minor tokens of the expansive love we feel for our family’s newest member.
It’s my first Christmas as an uncle. My sister gave birth to little Aidan in mid-October, and even at the tender young age of two-and-a-half months, he is in for a holiday treat.
Some of the boxes under the tree are likely to be larger than he is, and many of them, like a book he will receive from me, won’t be used by him on his own for years. (I expect to read it aloud to him soon after the holiday hurry passes.)
It’s not like he really needs anything material. That young, he has no requirements aside from a warm set of arms to hold him, milk from his mother or a bottle, and a regular – even frequent – change of diapers.
But we in the family are likely to keep looking for the Perfect Book or the Perfect Toy. Perhaps even the Perfect Crib or the Perfect Baby Carrier, replacing models previously thought top-of-the-line, will appear under the tree come Dec. 25. We will spend our hard-earned money on things Aidan may use, like money for college or a new outfit. We’ll miss the mark with other gifts and find that he never uses them. And of course there will be the toys, mobiles and trinkets all families want kids to play with.
But why do we insist, this early in his life, on showering him with material goods? In part, it’s selfish: I notice my own glee as I wander through stores, wondering what I might find that I want Aidan to have. All of us, the grown-ups in his life, hope that he will never want for anything, and plan to do our part.
But we, like all members of expanding families, risk missing the point on the things he really will need as a growing boy: attention, love, support and encouragement.
Rather than buy him a book or a toy, I could clap along with him as he coos and gurgles. Spending time, with him and other loved ones, is more important than spending money.
And yet the gifts we give are symbols of our love for each other, efforts to make the lives of our friends and family somehow easier, better or more fun. I have found myself in more than one store, debating inside my head whether this is something that I really want to buy.
I try to remember to resist the urges and not let spending money on my nephew substitute for spending time with him. He’s a glorious young boy who, I fear, will grow up far too fast for any of us to really handle. There will always be more books, more toys and more things-that-look-weird-and-make-noise to buy, but there will not always be more time to be with Aidan.
And I hope we all keep in mind what Aidan’s holiday packages truly should contain: not replacements for affection or simple bribes to satisfy spoiled children, but minor tokens of the expansive love we feel for our family’s newest member.
Tree men come home
Published in the Current
After 15 days in North Carolina, four workers from Bartlett Tree Service in Scarborough returned home Dec. 23, just in time for Christmas.
“It’s good to be home,” said Troy Delano just after getting his suitcase off the baggage carousel at the Portland Jetport. It was the longest he had ever been away from home.
His wife is due to give birth Dec. 31, and she was waiting eagerly for his return, hoping she wouldn’t go into labor early. “I was having some faith,” she said.
The men pulled 10-hour days from the beginning to the end, with no real time off. “We worked right straight through,” Delano said.
It was only fitting that the men head south after a Dec. 4-5 ice storm knocked out power for over 2 million North Carolina residents and damaged buildings and cars, resulting in a federal disaster-area declaration for the region.
Some of the North Carolina workers had come to Maine in 1998, to help clean up things after that year’s ice storm, and Delano said he ran into a North Carolina man who had worked with him then. “It was good to go down.”
This year’s task was both harder and easier than the one four years ago. Warmer temperatures meant the ice had melted, but “they have very large trees,” Delano said, because of the longer growing season.
The men were working to clear roads and power lines of trees and downed branches, but couldn’t take care of everything. “There’s still a ton of damage,” Delano said. “There’s still limbs on houses.”
By the middle of the first week they were there, all of the power was back on, Delano said, and workers remained to help with the rest of the cleanup.
They were originally slated to come home Dec. 20, but chose to stay longer to get more done. The people they met were very supportive.
Delano and Bill Reed went into a store to pick up some food and other items, and the man behind the counter gave it all to them free, and thanked them for their hard work.
“People were very generous,” Delano said.
Tim Lindsey of Bartlett Tree Service said he was glad to send workers down to help out, though Pat Lindsey, who also works at the business, said the men would have to work a half-day on Dec. 24 to meet the needs of customers who have been patiently waiting for tree work here in Maine.
North Carolina tree companies paid for their flights, and made sure that they made it back on time and in style. “They flew back first class,” said Tim Lindsey.
After 15 days in North Carolina, four workers from Bartlett Tree Service in Scarborough returned home Dec. 23, just in time for Christmas.
“It’s good to be home,” said Troy Delano just after getting his suitcase off the baggage carousel at the Portland Jetport. It was the longest he had ever been away from home.
His wife is due to give birth Dec. 31, and she was waiting eagerly for his return, hoping she wouldn’t go into labor early. “I was having some faith,” she said.
The men pulled 10-hour days from the beginning to the end, with no real time off. “We worked right straight through,” Delano said.
It was only fitting that the men head south after a Dec. 4-5 ice storm knocked out power for over 2 million North Carolina residents and damaged buildings and cars, resulting in a federal disaster-area declaration for the region.
Some of the North Carolina workers had come to Maine in 1998, to help clean up things after that year’s ice storm, and Delano said he ran into a North Carolina man who had worked with him then. “It was good to go down.”
This year’s task was both harder and easier than the one four years ago. Warmer temperatures meant the ice had melted, but “they have very large trees,” Delano said, because of the longer growing season.
The men were working to clear roads and power lines of trees and downed branches, but couldn’t take care of everything. “There’s still a ton of damage,” Delano said. “There’s still limbs on houses.”
By the middle of the first week they were there, all of the power was back on, Delano said, and workers remained to help with the rest of the cleanup.
They were originally slated to come home Dec. 20, but chose to stay longer to get more done. The people they met were very supportive.
Delano and Bill Reed went into a store to pick up some food and other items, and the man behind the counter gave it all to them free, and thanked them for their hard work.
“People were very generous,” Delano said.
Tim Lindsey of Bartlett Tree Service said he was glad to send workers down to help out, though Pat Lindsey, who also works at the business, said the men would have to work a half-day on Dec. 24 to meet the needs of customers who have been patiently waiting for tree work here in Maine.
North Carolina tree companies paid for their flights, and made sure that they made it back on time and in style. “They flew back first class,” said Tim Lindsey.
Teens worry about proposed increase in driving age
Published in the Current
Secretary of State Dan Gwadosky is looking to increase restrictions on teenage drivers to improve road safety in Maine, but driving schools and driving students aren’t happy with what he has proposed.
Gwadosky would like to discuss with the public and legislators the possibility of increasing the driving age from 16 to 17; banning teens from driving between midnight and 5 a.m.; extending the length of time new drivers must hold learner’s permits before they can get their licenses; extending the ban on carrying passengers for an additional three months; and mandatory license suspensions for teenage drivers who get traffic tickets.
Gwadosky, armed with statistics indicating one teenage driving fatality every 10 days in the state, and 60 injured teens during the same amount of time, met with the Maine Legislative Youth Advisory Council early this month to discuss ways to make teenagers safer when driving.
He told the Current speed, inattention and driver distraction were all common factors in crashes involving teen drivers.
Gwadosky said he is “trying to find the best way to address those issues through legislation,” and the proposals are preliminary.
“I think it’s unlikely we’ll advance all of them to the Legislature,” he said.
Teens concerned
Several students in a Best-Way Driving School class, most of whom were 15 or 16, didn’t like Gwadosky’s ideas, especially raising the license age to 17.
Jacqueline Schmidt, in the minutes before she started her learner’s permit test, said she likes being able to get her license earlier rather than later, but she realizes safety is an issue.
“There are a lot of immature people that I know,” Schmidt said. Some of them, she said, should pay more attention to what they’re doing when they’re behind the wheel.
The real crunch, she said, comes when teens are 18 and have graduated from high school. Then, to get back and forth to work or college, they need a license.
“Once you graduate, you really need to be able to drive,” Schmidt said.
Before that, there are buses to and from school, and parents can often give teens rides to work and other activities, she said.
She suggested having driver education as a course in high school, which students must pass before getting their licenses.
Schmidt said she is concerned that students in driver education classes now might be forced to wait to get their licenses. She said the wait makes sense for safety, but admitted she wants her license as soon as possible.
As for the proposed curfew, she thinks one from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. makes sense for students who have jobs or other activities that require them to stay out late. She also thinks it odd that a kid can get in a car and drive at age 16 but can’t drink until age 21.
“You can take someone’s life with a car,” Schmidt said.
Another student, John McDonald, also opposed raising the age limit on getting a driver’s license.
“I think that’s stupid,” said McDonald. “I don’t think that one year is going to make a difference.”
Andrea LaBonty said her parents spend a lot of time driving her around, and that will get easier when she has her license. She also hopes to get a job once she can drive to it.
Getting her license earlier, she said, would reduce the load on her parents.
LaBonty also said that nobody obeys the three-month passenger ban as it is, so extending it wouldn’t have any effect.
Dana Bennett said that if he was told he had to wait until age 17 to get his license, “I’d be pretty mad.” He also thought younger people, not yet in driver’s education, would also be “annoyed” by a new rule.
Kate Lonsdale, 17, said her brother brags about speeding. She said waiting until teens are more mature would be a good idea. Lonsdale said she may wait until she’s 18 before going for her road test.
“Driving is a big responsibility, ” she said. Some people can handle it, and others can’t, she added.
Lawmakers interested
That’s why Gwadosky wants to help teens get more experience before they get their licenses.
Six legislators have already contacted Gwadosky to express interest in sponsoring a bill that would toughen driving laws, including restricting passengers, who are an issue because some of the teens killed and injured on the roads were not driving themselves.
Teens are interested in getting their licenses, he said, but the state has to balance that with safety. Gwadosky said it is a good idea to drive through all the seasons before going for a road test. His son, now 19, did that, and his 16-year-old daughter is doing so now, he said.
The Legislative Youth Advisory Council is more willing to make changes to the permit process, Gwadosky said, than to up the licensing age.
“There’s a tremendous interest,” Gwadosky said. “A driver’s license represents freedom and independence.”
Part of that is because of the state itself. “We have no public transportation,” Gwadosky said. Additional young drivers are important for families in rural areas, but young drivers still have a lot to learn, he said.
“Getting their license isn’t the end. It should really be the beginning,” Gwadosky said.
He has tried to create an environment in the state where family members are involved in driver education, but realizes that is hard to do. “There are some things we can’t legislate,” he said.
Gwadosky and driver educators do agree that some of the requirements are not enough, but they differ on how to deal with them.
Gwadosky encourages parents to rethink their own driving habits and be good models for their teens. They should work on specific areas of driving skills and give feedback to their children, he said. “The quality of the drive time is significant,” Gwadosky said.
Driver educator Ron Vance, who owns Best-Way Driving Schools with offices and classrooms throughout Southern Maine, worries more teens will drive without a license if the law changes.
Rather than change the driving age, he suggested an increase in the number of hours teens must drive with their parents. Other states require 50 hours with parents, rather than the 35 hours Maine requires, Vance said.
“We can help reduce (teen driving deaths) with the parents’ help , ” Vance said.
Secretary of State Dan Gwadosky is looking to increase restrictions on teenage drivers to improve road safety in Maine, but driving schools and driving students aren’t happy with what he has proposed.
Gwadosky would like to discuss with the public and legislators the possibility of increasing the driving age from 16 to 17; banning teens from driving between midnight and 5 a.m.; extending the length of time new drivers must hold learner’s permits before they can get their licenses; extending the ban on carrying passengers for an additional three months; and mandatory license suspensions for teenage drivers who get traffic tickets.
Gwadosky, armed with statistics indicating one teenage driving fatality every 10 days in the state, and 60 injured teens during the same amount of time, met with the Maine Legislative Youth Advisory Council early this month to discuss ways to make teenagers safer when driving.
He told the Current speed, inattention and driver distraction were all common factors in crashes involving teen drivers.
Gwadosky said he is “trying to find the best way to address those issues through legislation,” and the proposals are preliminary.
“I think it’s unlikely we’ll advance all of them to the Legislature,” he said.
Teens concerned
Several students in a Best-Way Driving School class, most of whom were 15 or 16, didn’t like Gwadosky’s ideas, especially raising the license age to 17.
Jacqueline Schmidt, in the minutes before she started her learner’s permit test, said she likes being able to get her license earlier rather than later, but she realizes safety is an issue.
“There are a lot of immature people that I know,” Schmidt said. Some of them, she said, should pay more attention to what they’re doing when they’re behind the wheel.
The real crunch, she said, comes when teens are 18 and have graduated from high school. Then, to get back and forth to work or college, they need a license.
“Once you graduate, you really need to be able to drive,” Schmidt said.
Before that, there are buses to and from school, and parents can often give teens rides to work and other activities, she said.
She suggested having driver education as a course in high school, which students must pass before getting their licenses.
Schmidt said she is concerned that students in driver education classes now might be forced to wait to get their licenses. She said the wait makes sense for safety, but admitted she wants her license as soon as possible.
As for the proposed curfew, she thinks one from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. makes sense for students who have jobs or other activities that require them to stay out late. She also thinks it odd that a kid can get in a car and drive at age 16 but can’t drink until age 21.
“You can take someone’s life with a car,” Schmidt said.
Another student, John McDonald, also opposed raising the age limit on getting a driver’s license.
“I think that’s stupid,” said McDonald. “I don’t think that one year is going to make a difference.”
Andrea LaBonty said her parents spend a lot of time driving her around, and that will get easier when she has her license. She also hopes to get a job once she can drive to it.
Getting her license earlier, she said, would reduce the load on her parents.
LaBonty also said that nobody obeys the three-month passenger ban as it is, so extending it wouldn’t have any effect.
Dana Bennett said that if he was told he had to wait until age 17 to get his license, “I’d be pretty mad.” He also thought younger people, not yet in driver’s education, would also be “annoyed” by a new rule.
Kate Lonsdale, 17, said her brother brags about speeding. She said waiting until teens are more mature would be a good idea. Lonsdale said she may wait until she’s 18 before going for her road test.
“Driving is a big responsibility, ” she said. Some people can handle it, and others can’t, she added.
Lawmakers interested
That’s why Gwadosky wants to help teens get more experience before they get their licenses.
Six legislators have already contacted Gwadosky to express interest in sponsoring a bill that would toughen driving laws, including restricting passengers, who are an issue because some of the teens killed and injured on the roads were not driving themselves.
Teens are interested in getting their licenses, he said, but the state has to balance that with safety. Gwadosky said it is a good idea to drive through all the seasons before going for a road test. His son, now 19, did that, and his 16-year-old daughter is doing so now, he said.
The Legislative Youth Advisory Council is more willing to make changes to the permit process, Gwadosky said, than to up the licensing age.
“There’s a tremendous interest,” Gwadosky said. “A driver’s license represents freedom and independence.”
Part of that is because of the state itself. “We have no public transportation,” Gwadosky said. Additional young drivers are important for families in rural areas, but young drivers still have a lot to learn, he said.
“Getting their license isn’t the end. It should really be the beginning,” Gwadosky said.
He has tried to create an environment in the state where family members are involved in driver education, but realizes that is hard to do. “There are some things we can’t legislate,” he said.
Gwadosky and driver educators do agree that some of the requirements are not enough, but they differ on how to deal with them.
Gwadosky encourages parents to rethink their own driving habits and be good models for their teens. They should work on specific areas of driving skills and give feedback to their children, he said. “The quality of the drive time is significant,” Gwadosky said.
Driver educator Ron Vance, who owns Best-Way Driving Schools with offices and classrooms throughout Southern Maine, worries more teens will drive without a license if the law changes.
Rather than change the driving age, he suggested an increase in the number of hours teens must drive with their parents. Other states require 50 hours with parents, rather than the 35 hours Maine requires, Vance said.
“We can help reduce (teen driving deaths) with the parents’ help , ” Vance said.
Away from home for Christmas
Published in the Current
For Christmas 1943, Harry Foote got no rest, “no presents, no party, no big meal.” He and the rest of the First Marine Division spent Christmas Day that
year, and about three weeks afterward, attacking Japanese positions on the Pacific island of New Britain.
U.S. strategists thought the Japanese would not expect an invasion on “that sacred day, ” said Foote, who later became the editor of the American Journal newspaper. “But it was war, and the First Marine Division landed.”
They started at the airfield on the western end of the island, at Cape Gloucester. “As we landed, they bombed us and strafed us on Christmas Day,” Foote said.
“We were in rain and mud from that day on.” Instead of luxuriant holiday meals, they ate “Spam and canned hash.”
Twenty years later, Matt Martinelli was in the Navy, stationed in Sicily for Christmas 1963. Sailors at the base invited the kids from a nearby orphanage over for a holiday meal of spaghetti. The kids got gifts of sweaters, stockings and candy.
The sailors also gave the orphanage a new oven and refrigerator.
“It was amazing how possessive they were of the little things we gave them,” said Martinelli, who now lives in Scarborough.
Martinelli served on three aircraft carriers, and despite involvement in the Korean and Vietnam wars, got lucky, always having “clean sheets and showers.”
The year before the Italian orphans’ feast, he had been stationed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and had just come through the Cuban Missile Crisis, during which the admiral in charge of the base told the men that they could count on being overrun if Castro decided to attack.
At Christmas, Bob Hope was elsewhere, so “Perry Como came to entertain us,” Martinelli said. The film version of “West Side Story” had also come out, and Martinelli remembered the USO brought down a copy of it to show as well.
And despite the recent threat of war, the base was quiet and peaceful on Christmas.
“It’s always an emotional experience being away on a holiday,” said John Rich of Cape Elizabeth, who served in the Marines during World War II and later became a war correspondent through Korea and Vietnam, and even reported on the Gulf War in 1991.
“We always got our turkey,” Rich remembered of his days in the service.
Even at the front, where soldiers “were busy enough,” the military always managed to get them hot food for the holiday meal.
New Year’s Eve 1943, he was in San Diego helping load ships preparing for the landing in Kwajelein.
The more senior officers were in town partying. “It was their last New Year’s in the U.S.,” Rich said. “For a lot of them it was.”
Behind a wall near the loading area, a few men had a bottle or two of alcohol, Rich remembered. “We got more and more screwed up,” he laughed, as he recalled everyone sneaking behind the wall to take a few nips of New Year’s cheer.
In Korea, Chinese troops decorated the lines between the forces. “The Chinese came down and hung some things on the barbed wire,” Rich said.
Christmas in Afghanistan
This year, Army Capt. Geoff Crafts of Cape Elizabeth will spend Christmas in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He returned to the main U.S. base in the country after three and a half months in the hinterland on intelligence-gathering missions, said his father, Stephen Crafts.
After all of that, it was on their way out that Capt. Crafts thought he might die. The helicopter that was taking him back to the base lost power in one engine. “They thought they were going down,” his father said. They did not, and managed to have a “hard landing,” but a safe one, in Kandahar.
Now, “they’re getting ready to celebrate Christmas,” his father said. The Crafts family has sent Geoff “a lot of stuff,” including 358 pounds of food in weekly packages over the past few months.
Last week, the troops got a visit from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, and the Army ’s highest-ranking non-commissioned officer, Command Sgt. Maj. of the Army Jack Tilley. Drew Carey and Roger Clemens also visited the camp.
His family has sent Crafts a miniature tree, battery-powered lights and “all that tacky stuff,” his father said. “They hang it all over their tents.”
And though they are far from home, Crafts and his comrades are doing well. “Spirits are high,” his father said. The men are almost constantly together in training or in wartime, so “they’re almost like family. ”
At the Crafts home, the family is gathering. The other two kids are visiting, one from college and one from right nearby where she lives.
“This is the second out of the last three Christmases he’s been gone,” Stephen Crafts said.
But they got a special treat: a call from Geoff a couple of days ago. Even though it was over a satellite phone with a long delay and an unspoken set of rules about what questions family can ask, Stephen said his son is doing well. “He’s always kept his sense of humor. ”
For Christmas 1943, Harry Foote got no rest, “no presents, no party, no big meal.” He and the rest of the First Marine Division spent Christmas Day that
year, and about three weeks afterward, attacking Japanese positions on the Pacific island of New Britain.
U.S. strategists thought the Japanese would not expect an invasion on “that sacred day, ” said Foote, who later became the editor of the American Journal newspaper. “But it was war, and the First Marine Division landed.”
They started at the airfield on the western end of the island, at Cape Gloucester. “As we landed, they bombed us and strafed us on Christmas Day,” Foote said.
“We were in rain and mud from that day on.” Instead of luxuriant holiday meals, they ate “Spam and canned hash.”
Twenty years later, Matt Martinelli was in the Navy, stationed in Sicily for Christmas 1963. Sailors at the base invited the kids from a nearby orphanage over for a holiday meal of spaghetti. The kids got gifts of sweaters, stockings and candy.
The sailors also gave the orphanage a new oven and refrigerator.
“It was amazing how possessive they were of the little things we gave them,” said Martinelli, who now lives in Scarborough.
Martinelli served on three aircraft carriers, and despite involvement in the Korean and Vietnam wars, got lucky, always having “clean sheets and showers.”
The year before the Italian orphans’ feast, he had been stationed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and had just come through the Cuban Missile Crisis, during which the admiral in charge of the base told the men that they could count on being overrun if Castro decided to attack.
At Christmas, Bob Hope was elsewhere, so “Perry Como came to entertain us,” Martinelli said. The film version of “West Side Story” had also come out, and Martinelli remembered the USO brought down a copy of it to show as well.
And despite the recent threat of war, the base was quiet and peaceful on Christmas.
“It’s always an emotional experience being away on a holiday,” said John Rich of Cape Elizabeth, who served in the Marines during World War II and later became a war correspondent through Korea and Vietnam, and even reported on the Gulf War in 1991.
“We always got our turkey,” Rich remembered of his days in the service.
Even at the front, where soldiers “were busy enough,” the military always managed to get them hot food for the holiday meal.
New Year’s Eve 1943, he was in San Diego helping load ships preparing for the landing in Kwajelein.
The more senior officers were in town partying. “It was their last New Year’s in the U.S.,” Rich said. “For a lot of them it was.”
Behind a wall near the loading area, a few men had a bottle or two of alcohol, Rich remembered. “We got more and more screwed up,” he laughed, as he recalled everyone sneaking behind the wall to take a few nips of New Year’s cheer.
In Korea, Chinese troops decorated the lines between the forces. “The Chinese came down and hung some things on the barbed wire,” Rich said.
Christmas in Afghanistan
This year, Army Capt. Geoff Crafts of Cape Elizabeth will spend Christmas in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He returned to the main U.S. base in the country after three and a half months in the hinterland on intelligence-gathering missions, said his father, Stephen Crafts.
After all of that, it was on their way out that Capt. Crafts thought he might die. The helicopter that was taking him back to the base lost power in one engine. “They thought they were going down,” his father said. They did not, and managed to have a “hard landing,” but a safe one, in Kandahar.
Now, “they’re getting ready to celebrate Christmas,” his father said. The Crafts family has sent Geoff “a lot of stuff,” including 358 pounds of food in weekly packages over the past few months.
Last week, the troops got a visit from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, and the Army ’s highest-ranking non-commissioned officer, Command Sgt. Maj. of the Army Jack Tilley. Drew Carey and Roger Clemens also visited the camp.
His family has sent Crafts a miniature tree, battery-powered lights and “all that tacky stuff,” his father said. “They hang it all over their tents.”
And though they are far from home, Crafts and his comrades are doing well. “Spirits are high,” his father said. The men are almost constantly together in training or in wartime, so “they’re almost like family. ”
At the Crafts home, the family is gathering. The other two kids are visiting, one from college and one from right nearby where she lives.
“This is the second out of the last three Christmases he’s been gone,” Stephen Crafts said.
But they got a special treat: a call from Geoff a couple of days ago. Even though it was over a satellite phone with a long delay and an unspoken set of rules about what questions family can ask, Stephen said his son is doing well. “He’s always kept his sense of humor. ”
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