In June 1919, a group of veterans met on the corner of Winthrop and Water streets in front of a bank building to discuss forming an American Legion post in Hallowell.

On June 24, 19 members met at the Bombahook Club and applied for a charter. American Legion Post No. 6 received its charter for formation on June 28 and a permanent charter on Nov. 11, 1919.

The post was named after Capt. Frank E. Goodrich, a Hallowell man who enlisted in the Canadian Army’s 48th Highland Regiment. He was shipped to France, where he was wounded in action. After recovering from his wounds, he attended a private flying school and became a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps.

Goodrich was killed in aerial combat in France on Sept. 12, 1916. His body was not returned to Hallowell and his grave is in Aubigney-en-Artois, France.

The first meeting place was in Society Hall. Subsequently, post meetings were held in the smoking room of the Worster House and later at City Hall. In 1935, meetings were held in the vestry building of the Universalist Church. The current post, which was the church vestry, was sold in 1938 to the Legion for $1 by the Universalist Church. Major renovations to the building began in 1991 and were completed several years ago.

After World War II, the post was renamed Goodrich-Caldwell Post No. 6 to include the three Caldwell brothers from Hallowell who were killed in action. Corp. Cecil Caldwell and his brother Pfc. Maurice were killed the same day in the South Pacific on Vangunu Island in the Solomons. Sgt. Frank Caldwell was killed in action in Germany, and a fourth brother, George, was wounded in Germany.

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In 1945, a wooden honor roll was placed on the Hallowell post office lawn to honor veterans from the city who served in the war. It was refurbished in 1993 but, in time, the memorial deteriorated and was in need of constant repair.

In 2008, post Chaplain Ernest Johnson recommended that the wooden honor roll be refurbished. Members decided to replace it with a granite monument that would be adjacent to war memorials at the north end of the Hallowell Cemetery in the area known as Legion Park.

The new monument will also include the names of veterans who entered the service while living in Hallowell and who served during the Spanish-American War through the Iraq and Afghanistan conflict eras.

The Veterans Monument Committee was formed Nov. 30, 2010, and planning and fundraising began. A starting point for funding was a $10,000 donation left to the Legion by Petty Officer 2nd Class Gene Lockyer. The project has received broad-based community financial support and met its goals in November.

Last fall, the base for the monument was put in place with the help of local contractors who were members of Post 6 and volunteered their time. Now completed, the monument will be dedicated during Memorial Day ceremonies on Monday.


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