VetsCount.org/Maine Honor a Veteran you love while helping a Veteran in Maine get a job pay a grocery bill make a car repair get counseling have heat feed their family a avert homelessness get PTSD support go back to school get supplies for a new career find stable housing Get a hand-up. Visit the Heroes Wall on the DiMillo’s Boardwalk and learn how you can purchase a tile to honor your military hero on this permanent monument. Proceeds benefit Veterans Count Maine to provide emergency financial assistance when no other resources are available. W W W . M O N H E G A N B O A T . C O M COASTAL DISCOVERY CRUISES 2- to 2½-hour cruises Puffins/Nature • Lighthouses Sunset Puffin/Nature Cruise • Charters The original MONHEGAN ISLAND MAIL BOAT EXPERIENCE 3 trips daily during summer 2 0 7 - 3 7 2 - 8 8 4 8 Craig Carreno Heirloom Consignment Come see one of the largest furniture consignment stores in Southern Maine! 30 years experience in home furnishings 161 Ocean Street South Portland, Me 04106 207-747-5112 Hours Tues-Sat 10-6 Sun 10-4 J u ly / A u g u s t 2 0 1 7 5 1 Heroes Whatmadeyoureconsiderus? The overall dynamic of the place. And the people–they are so hard working. Living in the South has been a big eye-opener. There’s a lot more crime and poverty. Growing up in New England, I always felt so safe. Whendoyougettocomebacknext? I’m getting ready for my first deploy- ment in 2018, I’ll be headed to Bahrain for six months, so I’m trying to take leave in September. WhatisyourfavoritefoodinMaine? Well, I hate lobster! Yes, really. I prefer the food here in the South. But I do miss Fish Bones American Grill. courtesy photos graduation, she entered Navy Flight School in Pensacola, Florida. H er alma mater was impressed. “De- nise is soaring,” wrote Bostonia magazine when she won her wings of gold, “and on her way to joining the elite ranks of Naval aviators.” After multi-en- gine training, she became a Navy P-3 Ori- on pilot. The P-3 is exactly the same Navy aircraft that served legendary tours of duty at Brunswick Naval Air Station. Did these old friends visible everywhere in Maine’s skies exert a powerful influence on Denise’s childhood? Or was it just fate? “I was aware of Naval Air Station Bruns- wick growing up,” but she never saw Orion in her future–though it’s the long-range air- craft she’s flying right now. As for craving a home-field advantage, she says, “I’ve nev- er landed at Brunswick before, but I have landed at Bangor Airport. We were coming home from deployment in 2014, and I was able to get word to my parents. They stood at the fence and saw me land. I was able to spend the night with them, too, and that was fun.” Today, “Denise is stationed at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, right now,” Carolyn says, “though she was just out in Colorado, flying in something inter- esting. It was called Operation SnowEx.” The operation involved NASA forest- ry scientists; “more than 100 scientists from universities and agencies across the United States, Europe, and Canada; and the Naval Research Laboratories; Denise