Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.
It was the summer of 1775, and British war vessels, including the four-gun Margaretta, were sailing into Machias Bay. Some three dozen Maine militiamen commandeered a merchant vessel and overtook the Margaretta with the only weapons they had — axes and pitchforks from their farms. The story goes that when they heard what was happening, a couple of young women brought bags of spoons, cups, and plates that the militia then melted down for ammunition. After a few days, what some call the first naval battle of the Revolutionary War was won by a few brave souls from Maine.
Well, I wonder what those men and women thought when just months later, the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution creating the Continental Navy. This year, as we celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the Navy, as well as the Army and the Marine Corps, I think about the brave people who have defended our nation's freedom for two and a half centuries.
Our state can proudly say that we're home to one of the highest number of veterans per capita of any state in the country. When you consider Maine's proud history of military service, that should come as no surprise. From the Revolutionary War and the Civil War to World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, Maine people have always defended our nation and its ideals, and our state has always shouldered its responsibility to serve.
That proud history of military service is also at the heart of my own family. My father served in the Pacific during World War II and survived the biggest battle in naval history, the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Two of my uncles also served in the Pacific in World War II, and my brother served several tours of duty in Vietnam. And so, as the daughter, niece, and sister of veterans, I pray for the safe return of all Maine people who are deployed overseas right now. And as the Commander-in-Chief of Maine's Armed Forces, I want to do everything I can to protect those service members and their families.
Through the Maine Bureau of Veterans Services, we have reestablished the Aides-de-Camp Veterans Advisory Program. We've provided free dental care for veterans in need. We've created the Governor's Challenge to coordinate behavioral health services and prevent suicides by veterans. And we've expanded our homeless veteran coordination team.
We also laid to rest 998 veterans and spouses across Maine's Veterans Memorial Cemetery System last year alone, and we helped veterans file more than 2,500 claims for health care and disability benefits, and we approved more than $13 million dollars in education benefits so veterans could go on to college and university here in Maine.
We've connected hundreds of service members and veterans and their families with resources and benefits, and we've connected veterans to jobs through our annual Hire-A-Vet campaign. With the help of the legislature, we've also kept the Maine Veterans homes open in Caribou and Machias for veterans and their spouses.
At the birth of our nation, brave souls armed with some melted silverware and pitchforks took on the British in Machias Bay to protect the rights and freedoms we now hold most dear. And for more than two-and-a-half centuries, Maine people have defended our state and our nation just as they serve today in deployments around the world.
This Veterans Day, we honor every person who has worn the uniform in defense of our state and nation, and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts.
This is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.