Sun, 10/06/2024 - 3:31pm

Ed O’Brien

Frank Selgona and Cyrene Foster in 1939 (Photo courtesy of Cyrene Slegona)

Sgt. Frank Slegona (Photo courtesy of Cyrene Slegona)

Frances, Albert, and Cyrene Slegona (Photo courtesy of Cyrene Slegona)

Frank Selgona and Cyrene Foster in 1939 (Photo courtesy of Cyrene Slegona)

Sgt. Frank Slegona (Photo courtesy of Cyrene Slegona)

Sunday morning we dragged the teenagers out of bed and piled them into the Odyssey. We volunteered them and ourselves to help Cyrene Slegona get her wood stacked. They grumbled, but they love Cyrene as much as my wife and I do.

Cyrene is probably my oldest friend; I have known her all my life. She has so many stories of me as a little kid, strange child that I was. It was pretty neat, when I was young, to have an adult friend who shared so many of my interests, and took me to see Return Of the Jedi in the theater.

Cyrene’s parents, Frank and (also) Cyrene, bought the farm on the hill at 116 Youngtown Road in 1948, moving there with their three kids from New Jersey. Talking to Cyrene during a break in wood-stacking, she told me that she believes that farm saved her father’s life.

In 1943, as the war raged, Frank and the elder Cyrene had two young children. Frank was working in the defense industry, building ships for the war effort. Although you would think that a man in his situation would be exempt from the draft, nevertheless, the notice came through.

Frank, a man who was an absolute genius with his hands, was going to leave his wife and children behind and serve in the 4th Infantry of the 12th Regiment on the front lines of Europe.

My guess is that at that time in the war, his mechanical ability was less needed than infantry against the fascists. He left with only days to prepare, and was shipped out without even the opportunity to say goodbye to his family.

Arriving in France after D-Day, Frank fought in some of the bloodiest battles of the war, including the Battle of Hurtgen Forest, The Battle of the Bulge, and the Battle of Remagen.

A heavy weapons specialist, Frank achieved the rank of Sergeant and earned three bronze stars before the war ended, and he returned home to his family. A family which soon grew to three with the birth of the third child, my friend Cyrene.

Throughout the war, he sent his beloved wife letters whenever he could. After his return, wanting like so many of his generation to just put the war behind him, he asked her to destroy the letters, which she reluctantly did, with the notable exception of a 12-page letter she kept in a hosiery box in her dresser, perhaps knowing that there would come a day, many decades later, when Frank was ready to discuss his experiences.

In the letter, written after V-E day, Frank recounts his time in Europe.

He wrote: “The old days of civilian life and peaceful living seem so far off. I’ve been in actual combat now for seven months and I know that war is hell. I know that I want to come home to you real soon, I may not be a better man, but I am a much wiser man.”

The letter in its entirety is reprinted in Staying Put in Lincolnville Maine, by Diane Roesing O’Brien.

His daughter believes that Frank lived with PTSD, and talked about how he rarely slept. The farm in Lincolnville was where he found peace, in the fields and orchard, in his barn, where he spent his long retirement restoring and rebuilding vintage cars. He crafted the tools he used, which his children gifted to the Owls Head Transportation Museum after he passed in 2011 at the age of 92.

Frank did end up talking about his time in the war late in his life. I know he and my father would often talk over a glass of Frank’s homemade beer or wine. He always joked about making a still, it certainly would have been a simple task for him.

My own strongest memories of Frank were the massive Christmas breakfasts he would serve, cooking all the best breakfast meats on the searingly hot wood stove in the kitchen. He was a man who was always quick with a warm smile or laugh, and one of the strongest old fellas I have ever encountered.

Frank and Cyrene were married for 70 years before her death in 2010. They were active and wonderful citizens of this town, the kind of people that make Lincolnville great.

Reading Frank’s letter to his wife from nearly 80 years ago makes me think of all the war veterans currently in our community, living quiet lives in a quiet place, and living with scars that others do not see.

May this place bring peace.

Whatever your story is, it is certainly beautiful out there. The colors are nearly at peak, and the weather is fantastically autumnal. Soak up some sunshine while you can, see if a neighbor needs help getting their wood in. Make an apple pie, walk a dog. Reach out at ceobrien246@gmail.com, if you have a Lincolnville event you’d like me to write about. I generally add it to the column the week before the event.

CALENDAR

Monday, October 7

School Committee Meeting, 6 p.m. LCS

Tuesday, October 6

Library open 3-6 p.m. 208 Main Street

AA Meeting 12:15 p.m., Community Building, 18 Searsmont Road

Wednesday, October 9

Lincolnville Historical Society Museum open, 1-4 p.m., 33 Beach Road

Library open 2-5 p.m.

Planning Board, 6 p.m. Town Office

Thursday, October 10

Heart and Soul Team, 4 p.m. Library