Maine Military Museum - It's not all about wiping the deck, as some sailors make amends in this creative exhibition.
Since the Revolutionary War, Maine has had a strong military heritage, although it was not among the original "13 Colonies" because it was actually part of Massachusetts. This helps explain why the country's motto is "Dirigo," or Latin for "I lead." That's why the Maine Military Museum, a privately operated 501 C 3 non-profit facility in South Portland, depicts soldiers and their service in every conflict, from the Revolutionary War to the Gulf War and beyond today's actions.
Maine Military Museum
"Maine sent more warships proportionally than any other state," said Lee Humiston, the museum's founder, director and curator.
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Most of the pieces in the museum are original, often donated by veterans, families and others who own uniforms, headgear, weapons and other items. Some Civil War uniforms and Revolutionary War reproductions for rarity, not to mention prices.
Humiston, who says he has a special interest in POWs, doesn't want to focus only on displaying "shiny" items and wants to show moments that some will see. He went on to build a full-size replica of a prison cell from Vietnam-era Hanoi, even adding a mouse after a veteran commented.
The museum now houses many historic military artifacts in a small space with a thoughtfully curated exhibit. Humiston and a specially selected group of volunteers are on hand to tour museum visitors to present the history of any object or mannequin.
Every piece of history is fascinating, from the excavated shell field to the flight suit and the US flag that flew on D-Day. However, reading the accompanying plaque or hearing about the history from museum staff makes each piece significant.
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While not every piece in the museum and learning center has anything to do with Maine, the collection represents the history of the United States and the state, making a visit to the museum in historic Maine well worth your time.
Revolutionary War uniforms are reproductions; However, the display is quite authentic with ephemera of the day and artwork depicting the scene.
This exhibit depicts the Hanoi prison cells occupied by prisoners with accurate measurements and details down to the millimeter.
The four in this exhibit represent the same pilot, service uniform, POW uniform, discharge uniform, and uniform worn on re-enlistment.
Maine Military Museum Expansion 2018
The uniforms, many donated by veterans and families, represent a cross-section of eras and history in America's military.
Soldiers are the focus of World War I. It's the uniform shoes and artwork that make this show stand out on stage.
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Lee Humiston walks through the military artifacts he collected and displayed at the Maine Military Museum and Learning Center in South Portland last month. Humiston is the museum's founder, director and curator, and an Air Force veteran himself. Brianna Soukup / Staff Photographer
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To fully appreciate Lee Humiston's passion for all things military, you have to go back more than 70 years to South Portland's annual garbage collection.
World War II still burns as a painfully fresh memory. Generations of soldiers returned home with souvenirs and trophies from their tours of duty in Europe, North Africa and the South Pacific. But it all seemed too much - just three years after the war, things began to appear here, there and everywhere in the middle of piles of roadside rubbish.
Among the photos of veterans in the museum is Lee Humiston's father, Leon D. Humiston Sr., who served in the Navy during World War II. Brianna Soukup / Staff Photographer
"My favorite year in history was 1948 because the wives were sick to death from all the war and war souvenirs," Lee Humiston, 80, said during a recent tour of the Maine Military Museum and Learning Center. "Let me tell you, up and down the street there were barrels and swords, guns, flags, helmets. We were all 10-12-year-old kids and we picked them all up and played with them and had fun with it.
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You won't find it on any list of the top 10 Maine Landmarks—the quaint, former VFW building on Peary Terrace in South Portland is barely visible from the bustle of nearby Broadway.
But step inside and it will take your breath away: eerily lifelike mannequins dressed in bright military uniforms from every era and every branch of service; Weapons ranging from a War of 1812 ivory-handled British officer's sword to a circa-World War II German KAR98 Mauser bolt-action rifle; a special POW unit that was then North Vietnam's Hoa Lo prison, a perfect replica of the cell known as the Hanoi Hilton.
Peer closer among the artifact-filled rooms and you'll see subtler traces of the armed conflict: two Purple Heart citations cut in half by an embittered Korean veteran, only gently pasted and framed by his sister; A Maine soldier's letter home before he was killed in action, "When will this madness end?"
The son of a World War II veteran himself, Humiston grew up in South Portland and enlisted in the Air Force on October 24, 1956. He still remembers how he and a handful of friends were enlivened by the news of the revolt against Hungary. The Soviet Union rushed to the recruiting station, thinking they were going to war.
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But there was no war. Instead, Humiston began his basic training with two things going for him—a high aptitude for administrative tasks and a knack for advertising in an artistic style. He would continue the latter by traveling the world to display exhibits celebrating the U.S. military throughout his six-year military career.
He continued to collect along the way. Patches from the many sections he's been through. A challenge coin shows that he not only met a soldier, but also earned the respect of that person. Rifles, bayonets, battle flags... he took them all gratefully.
As a teenager in the Air Force in the mid-1950s, Humiston found himself surrounded by veterans of World War II, several of whom had been prisoners of war. Their stories fascinated him. Souvenirs from captivity, which they often gave as gifts, became his most valuable possessions.
"You know what the captors called me? They gave me the title to put on my tombstone: 'Fireman.'" "And I love to tell that story," he said.
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One room at the Maine Military Museum is filled with American and Japanese World War II artifacts and photographs. Brianna Soukup / Staff Photographer
After leaving the Army in 1962, Humiston pursued a career in banking in southern California. But he never lost his love of collecting, often turning his artifacts into exhibits that he brought to high schools, POW meetings, and where curious onlookers were waiting.
Then twice divorced in 2005, he returned to South Portland and married his current wife, Maureen, the following year.
He shipped all his belongings here and set up his first exhibition at a local art gallery. Then he secured approval from the city of South Portland to move into a cramped, 700-square-foot building in Mill Creek Park.
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People began to pay attention. Among them was Gary Crosby, a local businessman, who approached Humiston one day and, to Humiston's astonishment, said, "How would you like to own your own building?"
He was referring to the old VFW hall, all 12,000 square feet of which are free. It takes a lot of work — much of it done by inmates on work release from the Cumberland County Jail. Finally, in 2011, Humiston opened its doors.
It didn't take long for someone's family, usually a recently deceased veteran, to show up at the door full of uniforms, medals, weapons, and other memorabilia from long service. Usually boxed up in the attic for decades with the family, they want it to go to a place where it will be protected, respected and displayed for the world to see, in honor of their loved one.
Today, the treasure came from Maine, the survivor of Lt. Colonel Charles George Yves Normand served as command pilot of the Army Air Forces' 305th Bombardment Group before being shot down and captured by the Germans. Summer of 1944. Among the items his family donated: a B-17 window frame, silver.
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