A yearslong effort to erect a new Women Veterans Monument at Southern Maine Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in Springvale becomes tangible at the groundbreaking ceremony on April 18. Pictured are (left to right) Linda Smilie, Jeff Pooler, Kevin Warden, Noreen Parent, Renee Fournier and Dick Langlais.
Photo: Carolyn Cadigan
By Carolyn Cadigan
Representatives of veteran-focused organizations gathered at the Southern Maine Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery (SMVMC) in Springvale on April 18 to break ground on a new monument honoring women who served in the military. The ceremony, led by Linda Smilie, welcomed those that gathered for the event and recounted the effort to raise funds to support the Women Veterans Monument.
It all began five years ago when Ray Parent, former Sanford fire chief and past member of the Southern Maine Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery Association (SMVMCA), had the idea to erect a women’s monument, explained Smilie. The fundraising effort was successful thanks to many public and private donors as well as the efforts of Smilie and SMVMCA members. In addition, a donation from the nonprofit Maine Gold Star Families Memorial, represented at the event by Renee Fournier, will make possible the installation of a granite bench at the monument site. Parent passed away in 2024 before his idea could become a reality; however, his daughter, Noreen Parent, participated in the ceremony.
The monument at the veterans’ cemetery is groundbreaking as it is the first in Maine to honor women veterans. Dick Langlais, chairman of SMVMCA, noted, “It’s a great thing with this being the first women’s monument. We’re very proud we can have something like that.” The role of SMVMCA, a nonprofit staffed entirely by volunteers, is to erect monuments, plant flowers and beautify the cemetery so the families of veterans buried there can visit a peaceful and beautiful resting place, knowing their loved ones and the sacrifice they made have not been forgotten.
An annual fundraiser that largely supports monuments erected at the cemetery is the Honor in Stone Ride, founded by Smilie’s husband Brad Hoffman, who was an SMVMCA member and an advocate for the veteran community. Smilie had not been involved in the Honor in Stone Ride, but after Hoffman passed away in 2020, she joined SMVMCA, did the motorcycle ride in May of that year, and has chaired the event annually since then.
The monument will be installed near the committal shelter some time before this year’s May 17 Honor in Stone Ride. The dedication is planned for June 12 on Women’s Veterans Day, in recognition of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act, signed by President Harry S. Truman on that date in 1948. The act gave women the right to permanently serve in the regular armed forces.
Women have served in America’s wars and conflicts since the Revolutionary War, filling many roles, including soldiers, nurses, military intelligence members, cryptographers, and Air Force service pilots. However, during peacetime, women could only serve in the regular and reserve forces as nurses. It wasn’t until the signing of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act that women could serve full time in the regular and reserved forces during peacetime.
Jeff Pooler, superintendent of Maine Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in Augusta, also attended the ceremony. He was a helpful resource for Smilie as she researched and navigated the process to finally make Parent’s idea a reality. “We give all the credit to the associations that beautify our cemeteries,” said Pooler. “A day like this doesn’t come often. It’s a privilege to do something like this.”
Another monument honoring women veterans is being planned for the Northern Maine Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in Caribou.
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