Capt. Jay Brainard Gold Star Memorial Bridge dedication

ATKINSON — The Gold Star family Nancy and Don White of Atkinson invite the public to the Captain. John “Jay” Brainard Gold Star Memorial Bridge dedication/celebration on Saturday, July 30 at 3 p.m. The event will be on the bridge spanning the Piscataquis River between Atkinson and Sebec on the Stagecoach Road.

File photo courtesy of Maine Senate Republican Office

CAPTAIN JOHN “JAY” BRAINARD GOLD STAR BRIDGE — Legislation brought forward earlier in the year by Sen. Paul Davis (R-Sangerville) was unanimously passed by the Maine Senate to name a bridge on the Stagecoach Road between Atkinson and Sebec as the “The Captain John ‘Jay’ Brainard Gold Star Memorial Bridge.” A dedication/celebration of the bridge will take place on Saturday, July 30 at 3 p.m. Pictured in Augusta in March are, from left, Rep. Ray Wallace (R-Dexter), Sen. Davis, Don White and Nancy White (Gold Star In Loco Parentis), Rep. Paul Stearns (R-Guilford) and Rep. Norm Higgins (R-Dover-Foxcroft). 

Capt. Brainard lived in Newport and Atkinson, attended middle school at the Penquis Valley School and he was a 2004 graduate of Foxcroft Academy. Capt. Brainard was an Apache helicopter pilot, killed in action in Afghanistan on Memorial Day 2012.

Sen. Paul Davis (R-Sangerville), Rep. Norm Higgins (R-Dover-Foxcroft), Capt. Brainard’s family, friends, veterans and the community will honor and remember Capt. Brainard on July 30. The dedication is scheduled to include the Maine Army National Guard Marching Band, National Guard Honor Guard, the Patriot Riders, military veterans, Gold Star families, the Summit Project stones and speeches by Capt. Brainard’s fellow Army aviators.

The bridge dedication will be followed by food and fellowship at the Atkinson Town Hall and the adjacent newly refurbished Atkinson Veterans Memorial.