National Defense

Throughout the Crown of Maine's history the United States military has played a significant role in the development of this region, starting with the opening of Hancock Barracks in Houlton in 1831 to help resolve the northern border dispute. In 1847 the troops stationed in Houlton left for the Mexican war leaving Aroostook devoid of any significant military presence until World War I when Houlton was chosen as the location for the first transatlantic Radio Intelligence station. The US Army MI-8 Radio Intelligence Service intercepted German diplomatic communications primarily from the Nauen high power radio station. Because of its success, Houlton helped to lay the foundation for many more US long range radio intercept stations. In 1941 the Presque Isle and Houlton Army Air Fields were established. Because Northern Maine is the closest U.S. land mass to Europe, Aroostook was selected as the departure point for planes and equipment going overseas for service in World War II. In 1944 a major part of the Houlton air base was made into a Prisoner of War (POW) internment camp called Camp Houlton. At its peak, 3,700 German POWs were imprisoned at the camp. Both Air bases were closed with the end of WWII. However, the Presque Isle Army Air Field was reactivated in 1950 as the Presque Isle Air Force Base. In 1948 the then Limestone Army Air Field later to be known as the Loring Air Force Base was established less than forty miles away. The mission of the Presque Isle base then was to defend the airspace of the northeastern United States and Loring AFB which ended in 1959. In 1956 Loring AFB began to establish a major part of its future identity with the arrival of its first B52 Bomber a mainstay of the base until its closure in 1994.

With many Aroostook natives joining the armed forces over the years as well as the large number of military families choosing to make the County their home after their engagement, Aroostook is home to a large number of veterans. Today Caribou is home to a new state of the art Veterans Hospital which started as the first rural VA clinic in the nation, a Veterans Home featuring a 30-bed domiciliary as well as a Veterans cemetery.

If you want to learn more about some of the brave souls from Aroostook that has served our country read about our Medal of Honor winners (link).

To learn more about the Military History of Aroostook Please Visit:
www.loringairforcebase.com/
www.strategic-air-command.com/bases/Presque_Isle_AFB.htm
http://victorian.fortunecity.com/stanford/805/