Another Memorial Day: Aubrey G. Connors, the second of three children of Wilbur S. and Ellen J. Connors, was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. In 1927, the Connors family left their farm in Nova Scotia and moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., where Aubrey started grade school in 1928 at P.S. 132. The family moved again in 1934 to a farm near Lincolnville. Aubrey, his older brother, Ernest, and younger sister, Lucille, attended elementary school there through eighth-grade and then moved on to the high school in nearby Camden, where Aubrey graduated in 1939. In addition to being an avid sportsman, Aubrey was also a talented bass horn player in the Camden and Lincolnville bands.

In 1941 Aubrey accepted a job at Sperry Gyroscope Company and moved to Brooklyn. He was able to continue playing music with the Sperry Gyroscope Band. While he was employed at Sperry, Aubrey’s older brother, Ernest, entered Kings Point and graduated in 1943. Aubrey followed his brother to Kings Point, entering in 1942. While the Connors boys were at Kings Point, their sister, Lucille, was attending Columbia University.

Aubrey G. Connors signed on aboard the Liberty Ship SS Robert Gray as deck cadet on April 3, 1943 at the port of Baltimore, N.Y. A week later, on April 12, 1943, the ship sailed from New York with a number of other ships in Convoy HX 234 bound for Liverpool, England, apparently loaded with a cargo that included ammunition or explosives. For unknown reasons the Robert Gray fell back from the convoy on the night of April 13-14. Although ordered to return to Halifax, the ship apparently attempted to follow or re-join the convoy, but was never heard from again.

After the war, German Navy records told the rest of the story. The ship was spotted by U-108 at a little before 3 a.m. on April 19, while the submarine was running on the surface about 125 miles south of Cape Farrell, Greenland. The submarine fired four torpedoes and heard two explosions. However, the ship did not sink immediately and its gun crews began firing at the surfaced submarine, forcing it to dive. While submerged, U-108 fired two more torpedoes, with the final torpedo hitting the Robert Gray a little after 5 a.m. local time. This caused a fire and explosion in the ship’s cargo, sinking the ship quickly at the stern.

There were no survivors among the crew of 39, and the 23 Naval Armed Guard. On June 14, 1943, the Navy Department determined that since the Robert Gray had not been heard from since April 13-14 it must be presumed lost.

Cadet-midshipman Aubrey G. Connors was posthumously awarded the Mariners Medal, Combat Bar, Atlantic War Zone Bar, the Victory Medal and the Presidential Testimonial Letter.

From Kings Pointers in World War II.

These Lincolnville men lost their lives in a war:

Aubrey Meservey and Leroy Richards died in World War I.

Aubrey Connors, 20, Samuel Ripley and Maynard Thurlow, 23, died in World War II.

John Knight, 25, died in Vietnam.

One hundred ninety-three men enlisted in the Union Army from Lincolnville during the Civil War. The town’s Honor Roll doesn’t list those who died, though surely there were Lincolnville men who lost their lives in that terrible war. There’s a research project for someone.

The Honor Rolls, newly erected at Veterans Park, give pause; what an awful lot of wars our country has been involved in since our founding 233 years ago: Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Panama, Grenada, Gulf War, Afghanistan, Iraq. When will we stop fighting wars? And here we are at another Memorial Day, the day we remember those who died in all those wars.

It started as Decoration Day, when families tidied up the family plot and planted geraniums and pansies. People still do that of course, bringing baskets and wreaths and potted plants. Along with the fluttering flag on each veteran’s grave, our cemeteries look almost festive. When Wally was mowing Maplewood, and for a few years, I worked with him, there was a bit of life in the air the days the flags and flowers went in.

And then I started noticing some of the other graves. The ones that said “Mother” or “Beloved Mother to …..” or “Wife,” “Wife of ….” Oh, they might have flowers, especially if there were still children or grandchildren to remember them, but the older graves – no flowers, no flag. Women who had labored, given birth — and too often, died giving birth — raised the children, loved them with all their hearts, and too often lost them to illness, accident or war.

Roger Rittmaster will give a free illustrated talk on “Chasing Butterflies and Dragonflies Around Lincolnville” on Wednesday, June 1 at 7 p.m. at the Lincolnville Community Library. Roger will describe the life histories of these insects and explain how to identify the various species. An expert photographer, he will also show his techniques for capturing high quality images of butterflies and dragonflies and share many beautiful ones of his own.

Children’s music program

The library will offer a free summer series of Midcoast Music Together programs with Jessica Day beginning Friday, June 3 at 11 a.m. Other dates will be Fridays, July 8 and Aug. 5. All families with children newborn to age five are invited to come enjoy singing, dancing and exploring musical instruments together. Jessica led a similar series at the library during the winter months, and staff said it was always wonderful to see so many young children, moms, dads and grandparents having fun together. Now the program will continue thanks to the generous support of the Ethel and W. George Kennedy Family Foundation. 

For more information on library programs or services, call 763-4343 or email.