Every town in Maine has seen its young people go off to war at various points in history, as evidenced by the countless Civil War and First and Second World War memorials in towns and cities all across the state. Nearly all have seen at least a few of those brave young men and women not come back. It is a sobering and solemn day to learn you have lost one of your neighbors, classmates or friends.
The town of Milo, however, experienced an unusually painful loss during the Vietnam War: three soldiers, all of whom were killed in Vietnam within 18 months of each other in 1968 and 1969. For a town that at the time had a population of roughly 2,500, the loss was palpable.
PFC Henry Albert "Butch" Heal Jr., a Private First Class in the U.S. Army, died in combat on April 22, 1968, four days shy of his 21st birthday. Later that year, PFC Wayne Sangillo, a U.S. Marine, died at age 21 on Nov. 18, 1968. The following year, WO James Earl Ellingson, a U.S. Army helicopter pilot, died in a crash under hostile fire on Oct. 4, 1969. He was 20 years old.
Imagine being a member of the classes of 1965 or 1966 at what was then Milo High School and hearing, in succession, that your classmates had died. That's a memory that a community carries with it, even decades later.
That's why, more than 50 years later, members of the Milo community decided to do something to honor those lost veterans. Milo select board member Tony Hamlin and a group of fellow Milo residents in 2022 worked with Maine Rep. Richard Evans and Maine Sen. Paul Davis to draft a legislative resolution to name three bridges in the town of Milo for those three soldiers.
In his testimony in support of the measure, Hamlin said he knew all three men personally, having attended school with them at the same time.
"As we all know, our Vietnam Veterans didn't enjoy the same level of recognition as our service members of today do."— Tony Hamlin, Milo select board
"The fact that we have three bridges in Milo that cross the individual spans of our three rivers allows us to properly recognize these three Vietnam War KIAs as a way for all of their families and friends to be reminded of their sacrifices," Hamlin wrote.
The measure passed both houses, and in October 2022, a naming ceremony was held.
Three rivers, three names
- Henry "Butch" Heal, Jr. Memorial Bridge — carries Route 16 across the Sebec River. PFC, U.S. Army. Died April 22, 1968.
- Wayne Sangillo Memorial Bridge — carries state routes 6, 11 and 16 across the Piscataquis River. PFC, U.S. Marine Corps. Died Nov. 18, 1968.
- James Ellingson Memorial Bridge — carries Pleasant Road across the Pleasant River. WO, U.S. Army helicopter pilot. Died Oct. 4, 1969.
"The families of our fallen heroes received confirmation that our town hasn't forgotten the service and sacrifice of their loved ones," Hamlin later wrote in a letter to the editor of the Bangor Daily News. "[It is] assured their names will live on forever in the history of this small, grateful town."
