Lt. C. C. Field, US Army WWI and Sgt. James Allen, USMC WWII (Field-Allen)

Past Commanders:1938-1939 Roland L. Ward 1939-1940 Charles McSwigin 1940-1941 Albert H. Brackett 1941-1942 Frederick H. Aikins 1945-46 Ralph Miele 1947-1948 Robert W. Dolby 1948-1949 Delano D. Leonard 1949-1950 Ralph W. Newell 1950-1951 Paul F. Slocum 1952-1953 Wallace Brown 1953-1954 Jerry Brown 1954-1955 Carroll MacDonald 1954-1955 Carroll MacDonald 1955-1956 Walter L. Peavey 1956-57 Edwin McDonald 1957-58 Frank Sutherland 1958-59 Davida Upton 1959 -61 Arthur Hill 1961-63 Iona L. Osnoe 1963-65 Maurice Wayne Rogers 1965-66 Donald Rogers 1966-67 Harry Plummer 1967-68 George L. Kimball 1968-69 Donald Rogers 1969-70 Ronald Pitt 1970-72 Frank Forbes 1972-77 Donald Rogers 1977-79 Iona L. Osnoe 1979-80 Donald Rogers 1980-84 Maurice Mayberry 1984-99 Harry Lang 1999-2004 Don McCormack 2004-08 David Tanguay 2008-09 Eugene Tanguay 2009- 2013 (Aug) Barry Lombard 2013 (Aug) - 2103 (Nov) Karle Learned 2013 (Nov) - Melvin Greenier

First Chartered in 1938-39, American Legion Post 148, of Windham, Maine was initially called the Lt. Field Post after the first Cumberland County and Windham resident KIA in World War I. Lt. C. C. W. Field was a well-educated local member of the community who responded to the call of duty. He was killed by a sniper in France leading a charge across an open Rail Road bed against a German machine gun emplacement raining down brutal fire over those that opposed it. Twenty-four (24) leading citizens and WWI Veterans of the Town of Windham formed the first Post in 1938 and Roland Ward was the first Commander. Little in the form of records remains from this early post formation and subsequent activities activity other than a “Marble Leger” dating to 1970 with the minuets of the meetings enshrined. In 1949-50, The Field Post was re-charted as the Field-Allen Post in memory of USMC Sgt Jim Allen who was the first Windham resident Killed in Action in WWII. Sgt Allen was killed in the Island Campaign in the Pacific Theater. Jim was an outstanding academic and star on the athletic field in his High School years. It is somewhat ironic that the Field and Allen families were closely related. Lt Field was the uncle of Sgt. Allen. Small Town. In 1949, in addition to the American Legion Post 148 receiving their names, the Town of Windham dedicated a school and a ball field to the name, Field-Allen The Field-Allen Post was officially re-charted as of Aug 25th 1950 with Ralph Newell as the Post Commander. The Post met at various locations around the Town of Windham until, in the early 1950s, the Post purchased the Ireland School on Nash Road from the Town of Windham. The Ireland School burned in the early 1960s and the Post was again without a permanent location for meetings. Hand scribed legers from the period until 1970 indicate the membership met at various locations around Town, including an annex at the Town Office. Records again go thin during the 1970 through 1990 and from several sources it would appear that the Post was hanging on, but, that was about all. The Post continued to coordinate the Memorial Day Parade for the Town until the 1980s. In the late 1980s the Post attempted to acquire land for a home on Sandbar Road in Windham, but was met with local neighborhood resistance. Following that, the Post started working with the local VFW Post to establish a building that both organizations could use as headquarters and call home. The resulting collaboration eventually became the Windham Veterans Association with land being purchased on a back lot in North Windham from one of the Post members. Construction on the Windham Veterans Center (WVC) commenced with groundbreaking in May of 1993. Through the dedicated effort of the membership of both Post and many donations from people and business in the Town of Windham, the WVC was opened with much fanfare in 1999. The WVC is run by an Executive Committee of the WVA staffed equally by membership from both Posts. The Center is used an s a rental Hall as well as a location to sponsor a variety of Veteran and Community events. In spite of the accolades as noted from the previous paragraphs, The Post membership was in serious decline again and in 1999 the Dept. of Maine intervened and held a general meeting of local veterans in an attempt to provide an infusion in the Post membership. As a result of the meeting, a new Commander, then Col. Don McCormack, Maine Air National Guard, was elected Commander along with a new Executive Committee. Under Commander McCormack’s leadership the Post was reorganized and revitalized. Goals were set for finances and membership. Within a year the Post membership was up to 68 and growing. Commander McCormack established social events and veteran’s support activities. Memorial Day has again become a significant event in the Town of Windham. Under Commander McCormack’s leadership the Memorial Day Parade was reestablished along with Air National Guard flyovers. A Memorial Day Ceremony was established in front of the High School after the Veteran’s Monuments were relocated to that location. Additionally, an Open House was set up at the WVC for all to attend. The Legion Post worked closely with the VFW Post to insure that flags were placed on all the graves on veterans in the 30 cemeteries in the Town. Commander McCormack’s parting challenge to the community and the Post was to place 100 American Flags on the utility poles lining the major thoroughfares of Windham. After 5 years at the helm, Commander McCormack was replaced with Commander Dave Tanguay, who continued to set new membership goals and expand veteran support. During the ensuing 5 year period, the grounds around the WVC were revitalized with a Veteran’s Memorial Garden, with walk ways and granite benches, flower gardens and trees. Membership reached 80+ and a monthly Newsletter was established and was sent to all membership. Post visibility was increased in the local News Papers and events such as the annual Pig Roast were established. Memorial Day Programs continued to grow and prosper. Since 2010, Commander Barry Lombard has been the leadership force behind the Post. More social events have been added to the annual schedule including a St Patrick’s Day Scholarship Dinner. The Boys and Girls State programs have been revitalized culminating in 5 students being sent to their respective conventions in 2012. Memorial Day is busier than ever with the addition of a well-orchestrated food drive on the Saturday before Memorial Day to benefit the local food pantry. All of this in addition to the Parade, flags, cemeteries, ceremonies and open house. As of 2013 the Post membership broke the 100 mark with a 111% gain from the previous year. Membership is also being supported by an influx of transfers from Post 178 as well as other neighboring Post. Commander Lombard has established a “social hour” preceding the business meetings where the membership can gather over refreshments and socialize before the well-attended meetings. Under Commander Lombard’s leadership, there has been a renewed emphasis on veteran’s related events. He worked closely with the local VFW Post to conduct joint activities such as the recent silent auction, free spaghetti dinner and Welcome Home Vietnam Veteran’s event. Commander Barry Lombard passed to Post Everlasting in August of 2013. The Post was saddened by the Passing of Commander Barry Lombard in August of 2013. He was laid to rest in Arlington Cemetery, North Windham, Maine. Chaplain Dana Reed of the Post officiated and a joint VFW and American Legion Rifle Squad render military honors. First Vice Commander, Karle Learned, assumed the responsibility of Post Commander while a Committee reviewed potential candidates for the Commander position. Due to health issues, Karle passed on being the Post Commander, In November of 2013 the Post installed a new Commander, Melvin Greenier of Westbrook. Although new to the Post, Commander Greenier has made his mark with the development of a Post web page and the expansion of the Post Family to include the Unit 148, Post Auxiliary and the addition of Junior Legion Baseball. The Field-Allen Post was instrumental in providing the logistic support for a Studio Flora’s Everlasting Gratitude, Wreath program, providing wreaths for all the veterans’ graves in all the cemeteries in Windham that fall and the next three years. Commander Greenier was re-elected in May 2015, 2016 and 2017. He continues to work towards maintaining an Excellence Post. His goals include: Continue to increase membership by 110% annually, re-establishment of the Everlasting Gratitude, Wreath Program; Formation of a Legion Rider’s Program as well as a Son’s of the American Legion. As of Dept. of Maine Convention 2017, The Field Annual Post has been recognized for the following: Post Excellence Award (4th Consecutive); Americanism Award, (2nd Consecutive), First Place Post History (2nd Consecutive); First Place, Newsletter (5th Consecutive); High Membership (8th Consecutive), Most New Members in a year (2016-17); and five individual recruitment awards. The Post’s nomination as Educator of the Year has been selected as the Dept. of Maine Educator of the year for 3 of the last 4 years. The Post Service Officer, Henry Chuck Whynot, holds weekly (Wednesday morning) Vet Coffee Socials as a drop-in program for local vets providing an opportunity to get out of the house, play cards, and generally socialize with other vets. The program over the last 18 months has been instrumental in many of the new memberships previously noted. The Post Service Officer also initiated a weekly food drop-off program in Windham to support the Portland VETCENTER food Pantry for homeless Vets. Over the last six months thousands of units of food have been distributed to need vets. In 2017, under the leadership of Post Sgt at Arms, Larry DeHof, the Post formalized the formation of a Honor Guard and Rifle Squad unit of 10 members to support local request for such services. All the HG members are in Official Legion White shirts as standard uniform along with the Official hat. As of July 2017, the HG and Rifle Squad has participated in seven events. The Post has made application to replace the aging bolt action, Ceremonial Rifles, with M-1 Garand Ceremonial Rifles. Looking ahead, the Field-Allen Post is actively engaged with soliciting new. younger members with a variety of Veteran’s Appreciation events including: Veterans time at the local indoor shooting range and A Veteran’s Picnic on Sebago Lake. The Post is also looking into establishing of a youth air rifle program in the coming year with the emphasis on family participation. The Field-Allen Post meets monthly at the Windham Veterans Center, 35 Veterans Memorial Drive, North Windham, Maine. There is a 5 PM social dinner followed by a 6 PM business meeting.