Clem Bechard is an inspiration.

On a recent trip to Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania, where a three-day battle in 1863 changed the course of the Civil War, Bechard searched out a granite monument commemorating the courage and tenacity of the 20th Maine Regiment.

In the sloping woods on the back side of Little Round Top, he found it. The stone was filthy and worn from more than a century of exposure; so worn that most of the carved-in names were illegible.

Bechard is a custodian at the McMahon Elementary School, so he likes clean things. He also likes clear recognition of the 29 killed, 91 wounded and 5 missing Mainers who fell there in defense of the Union.

Rather than simply shake his head in frustration, Bechard did something about the damaged monument. In what the Gettysburg Foundation called a rare move, he set out to personally raise money to clean the monument.

First, he wrote letters to Bowdoin College, to Gov. Paul LePage and to legislative leadership seeking help. He didn’t hear back from anyone.

Then, he turned to his fellow Mainers.

We heard him and, within days of the Sun Journal’s July 3 story on his efforts, he raised more than the $2,000 he needed to fund restoration of the monument.

The 20th Maine is famously known as an untested regiment that rose up and held its ground at all costs. They stood firm, those boys from Maine.

Bechard’s decision, action and success to respect the 20th Maine are more than honorable. They’re inspirational.

jmeyer@sunjournal.com