HEBRON — Local historian Ben Conant addressed the Hebron Historical Society on the town’s participation in World War I in this its 100th anniversary year.

 

Conant gave a brief account of each of the 19 Hebron men and women who served during the war. He shared old photos of most of the soldiers and some of their personal accounts and notes. One of this group was Forest Conant, the father of the speaker. He noted that the names are engraved in a granite monument outside the Town Office.

 

Most of them were trained at Fort Devens, Mass., but a couple attended the Student Army Training Corps at the University of Maine. While a few stayed stateside until the end of the war, most were shipped overseas to the front lines in France. The only female in the group was Florence Scothorne and she served as a nurse.

 

Charles Merrill was the only Hebron enlistee to give his life during the conflict. Assigned as a gunner, he sustained fatal wounds in battle and was buried in France. George Gurney and Alton Conant suffered gas attacks and were also wounded in France, but were returned safely to the states.

 

The next historical society meeting will feature Maine historian Peter Stowell speaking on “The Lost Tribes of Maine” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 27, at the Town Office, 351 Paris Road. The public is welcome to attend.