 Our Omega Mu brothers who served in the military are cherished and constant fraternal friends, and we would like to say thank you for the steadfast, purposeful commitment you made to our nation to defend those four freedoms we all believe in: “Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.” For those brothers who were killed in defense of these freedoms, they will always occupy a consecrated place in our linked fraternal heart because they exemplify the idea of superlative commitment, strength, and fortitude for the good to the end itself. The greatness of their collective purpose and will, on our nation’s behalf, will never be forgotten. By their “clear-eyed faith and fearless heart,” these brothers have left us a fraternal legacy that echoes what we often say about Omega Mu Fijis: “Perseverance and determination are omnipotent.” Their code of integrity, courage, duty, responsibility, and self-sacrifice on behalf of our nation is a powerful legacy that we will always be proud of as Omega Mu Fijis. Whether it was at New Orleans, Red River, Fort Blakely, Marianna, San Juan Hill, Santiago de Cuba, Chateau-Thierry, Verdun, El Guettar, Elba, Monte Della Vedetta, the Battle of the Bulge, Rabaul, Inchon, Pusan, Chosin Reservoir, Pork Chop Hill, Hue, Easter Offensive, Phu Cat, The Iron Triangle, Hamburger Hill, la Drang Valley, Bien Hoa, Khe Sanh, Rumaila, Al-Batin, Medina Ridge, Kabul, Kandahar, our Omega Mu brothers have demonstrated devotion to duty in defense of freedom and liberty. They are the stability of our nation, and we, the Omega Mu brotherhood, revere, honor, and salute their persevering and determined spirit within our great nation and our historic brotherhood. We will always honor the heroism of all of our brothers who have served in the armed forces from the Civil War to the present. Thank you. Omega Mu Veteran Sumner Waite, 1911
Omega Mu Years                  Sumner Waite, middle.
 Press Club  Maine Masque    Sophomore Declamations     Gunga Din...Sumner Waite Composer   University of Maine Athlete            World War I    Served in World War I as assistant chief of staff of the Thirty-Seventh Division and as chief of staff of the Third Division.     Sumner Waite celebrating Pig Dinner During World War I  "Indeed, the two of them once celebrated a Norris Dinner over the remains of a pig killed by a German shell in Belgium. It is not recorded whether the shell left the proper places on the pig kissable."  European Theater of Operations during World War II  Sumner Waite commanded the Thirteenth Infantry Division.  Prime Minister Winston Churchill, left, and General Charles de Gaulle. Assistant Chief of Staff of the European Theater of Operations, and he served in France as the United States Army representative with General Charles de Gaulle. Papers on Tank Warfare during World War II
Sumner Waite wrote several important papers on the importance of tank warfare.    
 China, Burma, India Theater of Operations World War II   From 1945-1946 he as the assistant chief of staff of the China-Burma-India Theater.  Sumner Waite received the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, French Legion of Honor, French Croix de Guerre with palm, Belgium Croix de Guerre, and the Belgium Military Cross. He retired as a Brigadier General, and he was the third University of Maine alumnus to earn that rank.     “What if the space be long and wide, That parts us from our brother’s side A soul-joined chain unites our band, And memory links us hand in hand.” (Phi Gamma Delta fraternity song)    Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82 Perge
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  Our Omega Mu brothers who served in the military are cherished and constant fraternal friends, and we would like to say thank you for the steadfast, purposeful commitment you made to our nation to defend those four freedoms we all believe in: “Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.” For those brothers who were killed in defense of these freedoms, they will always occupy a consecrated place in our linked fraternal heart because they exemplify the idea of superlative commitment, strength, and fortitude for the good to the end itself. The greatness of their collective purpose and will, on our nation’s behalf, will never be forgotten. By their “clear-eyed faith and fearless heart,” these brothers have left us a fraternal legacy that echoes what we often say about Omega Mu Fijis: “Perseverance and determination are omnipotent.” Their code of integrity, courage, duty, responsibility, and self-sacrifice on behalf of our nation is a powerful legacy that we will always be proud of as Omega Mu Fijis. Whether it was at New Orleans, Red River, Fort Blakely, Marianna, San Juan Hill, Santiago de Cuba, Chateau-Thierry, Verdun, El Guettar, Elba, Monte Della Vedetta, the Battle of the Bulge, Rabaul, Inchon, Pusan, Chosin Reservoir, Pork Chop Hill, Hue, Easter Offensive, Phu Cat, The Iron Triangle, Hamburger Hill, la Drang Valley, Bien Hoa, Khe Sanh, Rumaila, Al-Batin, Medina Ridge, Kabul, Kandahar, our Omega Mu brothers have demonstrated devotion to duty in defense of freedom and liberty. They are the stability of our nation, and we, the Omega Mu brotherhood, revere, honor, and salute their persevering and determined spirit within our great nation and our historic brotherhood. We will always honor the heroism of all of our brothers who have served in the armed forces from the Civil War to the present. Thank you. Omega Mu Veteran Mark L. Hersey, 1884  Military Career Mark L. Hersey started his military career by serving in the 9th Infantry at Fort Mojave and Fort Apache in Arizona, working as an Indian Agent with the Hualapai, Mojave, and Apache Indians. He was as a company commander, signal officer, topographer, and quartermaster. He would also serve in the 9th Infantry during the Boxer Rebellion.  9th Infantry Fort Mojave, Arizona
         Fort Apache, Arizona   Maine State College Faculty     1894-1895 Maine State College faculty photo with Mark L. Hersey, first row, wearing stripped pants.   Spanish-American War Mark L. Hersey served in the Spanish-American War, and he saw action in Santiago, Cuba.   Boxer Rebellion Mark L. Hersey was a captain in the 9th Infantry during the Boxer Rebellion, and he participated in the China Relief Expedition from Tientsin to Peking.    General Arthur MacArthur, Jr., father of Douglas MacArthur.  Captain Mark L. Hersey  The 9th U. S. Infantry marching toward Peking from Tientsin, China.  Mexico Mark L. Hersey was part of the 10,000 men U.S. military operation, led by Brigadier General John J. Pershing, to capture Pancho Villa after he had raided various towns, most notably the town of Columbus, New Mexico. President Wilson gave the order to Newton D. Baker, a Phi Gamma Delta brother, to plan the invasion of Mexico by Pershing and his men. Although Villa was not killed or captured, the expedition into Mexico did stop Villa's raids on border towns in the United States.   Brigadier General John J. Pershing and his men going into Mexico. World War I 
Hershey was Phi Gamma Delta’s highest-ranking officer during World War I, and he briefly com manded the 4th Infantry Division during World War I. He Fought in the Meuse Argonne Offensive and St. Mihiel. He led the 4th Division of the 2nd United States Army on a successful assault on the German position at Bois des Loges. For his service during World War I, Mark L. Hersey Hersey was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the French Legion of Honor, and the Croix de Guerre.      Meuse-Argonne Offensive Map  Mark L. Hersey's IV Division during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.  Hersey led the 4th Division on a successful assault on the German position at Bois des Loges. USS General Mark L. Hersey     The USS General M. L. Hersey (AP-148) was commissioned on July 29th, 1944. The ares served by the Hersey included the Admiralty Islands. the Russell Islands, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Philippines, the Palaus, and the Marianna. On its last wartime voyage home, it was reported that a cruiser that was near the USS Hersey, the U. S. S. Indianapolis, was sunk by a Japanese submarine. “In July 1945, the Indianapolis completed a top-secret high-speed trip to deliver parts of Little Boy, the first nuclear weapon ever used in combat, to the United States Army Air Force Base on the island of Tinian, and subsequently departed for the Philippines on training duty. At 0015 on 30 July, the ship was torpedoed by the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-58, and sank in 12 minutes. Of 1,195 crewmen aboard, approximately 300 went down with the ship.[4] The remaining 890 faced exposure, dehydration, saltwater poisoning, and shark attacks while stranded in the open ocean with few lifeboats and almost no food or water. The Navy only learned of the sinking four days later, when survivors were spotted by the crew of a PV-1 Ventura on routine patrol. Only 316 survived.[4] The sinking of the Indianapolis resulted in the greatest single loss of life at sea, from a single ship, in the history of the US Navy.” The USS Hersey was the flagship bringing occupation troops to Japan in September 1945, and it received one battle star for her wartime service in World War II and two battle stars for service during the Korean War.  USS General Mark L. Hersey coming home. Post-War Years   The University of Maine awarded General Mark L. Hersey with the Degree of Doctor of Laws. 
Portraits of Mark L. Hersey in The Smithsonian Museum   “What if the space be long and wide, That parts us from our brother’s side A soul-joined chain unites our band, And memory links us hand in hand.” (Phi Gamma Delta fraternity song)    Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82 Perge Our Omega Mu veteran-brothers who served in the military are cherished and constant fraternal friends, and we would like to say thank you for the steadfast, purposeful commitment you made to our nation to defend those four freedoms we all believe in: “Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.” For those brothers who were killed in defense of these freedoms, they will always occupy a consecrated place in our linked fraternal heart because they exemplify the idea of superlative commitment, strength, and fortitude for the good to the end itself. The greatness of their collective purpose and will, on our nation’s behalf, will never be forgotten. By their “clear-eyed faith and fearless heart,” these brothers have left us a fraternal legacy that echoes what we often say about Omega Mu Fijis: “Perseverance and determination are omnipotent.” Their code of integrity, courage, duty, responsibility, and self-sacrifice on behalf of our nation is a powerful legacy we can all be proud of as Omega Mu Fijis. Whether it was at New Orleans, Red River, Fort Blakely, Marianna, San Juan Hill, Santiago de Cuba, Chateau-Thierry, Verdun, El Guettar, Elba, Monte Della Vedetta, the Battle of the Bulge, Rabaul, Inchon, Pusan, Chosin Reservoir, Pork Chop Hill, Hue, Easter Offensive, Phu Cat, The Iron Triangle, Hamburger Hill, la Drang Valley, Bien Hoa, Khe Sanh, Rumaila, Al-Batin, Medina Ridge, Kabul, Kandahar, our Omega Mu brothers have demonstrated devotion to duty in defense of freedom and liberty. They are the stability of our nation, and we, the Omega Mu brotherhood, revere, honor, and salute their persevering and determined spirit within our great nation and our historic brotherhood. We will always honor the heroism of all of our brothers who have served in the armed forces from the Civil War to the present. Thank you. Omega Mu Veteran Ira M. Bradbury, 1914  Omega Mu Years       Ira Bradbury, front row, middle.      "The house was prettily decorated in evergreens and Xmas bells intermingled with frosted stars."  "At intermission harlequin and cakes were served." 
     First Mandolin I. M. Bradbury, '14   Mandolin I. M. Bradbury, '14  World War I 
 Ira M. Bradbury was a private in the 23rd United States Engineers during World War I, and he died on January 26th, 1918.             “What if the space be long and wide, That parts us from our brother’s side A soul-joined chain unites our band, And memory links us hand in hand.” (Phi Gamma Delta fraternity song)    Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82 Perge From multiple angles, our Q.T.V. and Omega Mu brothers have enriched the civic life at the University of Maine, and we are fortunate to have had many hardworking, talented brothers throughout our history. The balance between our athletic involvement, intellectual pursuits, and campus involvement is compelling. What they accomplished in their respective pursuits at the university constitutes a wonderful achievement in our fraternal history. There efforts were good and laudable, and there efforts represented the very best of our core values of persistence and determination. It is, believe me, a wonderful achievement, on the part of generations of Omega Mu brothers, for the respective gifts that they gave for the civic good at the University of Maine. In our historically calm, customary fashion, 149 years and growing, it was a rich yield for the common good of the Maine community, All of them, through their various commitments and endeavors within the University of Maine community, improved and brightened up the quality of life of the university community with their enthusiasm and dedication to there respective University of Maine teams, organizations, and club. They all did a good, positive job. Integrity demands that, and we are proud of all of these brothers. Over the years, many of our Omega Mu brothers held leadership roles on various University of Maine newspapers and yearbooks. Their contributions in creating something good in the university community cannot be overstated. "Good" does not, in reality, do justice in acknowledging their positive contributions. Each of them performed a vital function for the University of Maine community. They had a willingness to work, the willingness to accept challenges, in order to be focused, informative journalist in order to create daily newspapers and yearbooks that were interesting and informative. Their leadership style was authentic, and their generous, laborious work deserve praise and recognition in our brotherhood. They collected information, organized information, checked and re-checked facts, shared ideas, read and re-read every article, and proofed and re-proofed every page in the yearbook. They always gave of their time and talent in attending to each of these elements in order to write commendable, informative, and properly edited newspaper articles, and in sifting through thousands of pictures and thoughtfully crafting, shaping, and editing yearbooks. Their hard work, in turn, was to produce something, whether it was the university newspaper or yearbook, that was well-written, well-edited, and journalistically constructive, interesting, meaningful, and significant, in the short or long term. With drive and persistence, what our Q.T.V. and Omega Mu brothers achieved, in their numerous leadership roles on various newspapers and yearbooks, was complementary to everything we fraternally applaud for all of or brothers who were positively involved in the University of Maine community. What they achieved had real, enduring worth and value for the University of Maine community. They were indispensable. They made lasting contributions to the social well-being of the university community in keeping students well-informed and enlightened. These Omega Mu brothers embodied our old fraternal truth in being perseverant and determined in being faithful and generous with their gifts. In other words, our journalist brothers are a testament to our collective fraternal spirit of genuine integrity, industry, dedication, creativity, and commitment in adding to our long-standing history of civic engagement at the University of Maine. The noble ideals of our linked fraternal brotherhood started in 1848 and 1874, and our fraternal wheels have not stopped turning in continuing to create a generationally great brotherhood, and there will not be a breakdown. With enthusiasm and dedication, we will continue to build upon our unique fraternal legacy at the University of Maine for many decades come! It is exciting and rewarding to know that we will continue to have a great fraternal future because we have an undisputed claim to durable greatness in being the oldest, most dedicated fraternal brotherhood at the University of Maine. Again, again, and again, we have always gotten on with the job of continuing to be the standard of fraternal excellence. And so, the passage of our 149 fraternal years will never stop us from honoring the rich legacy of those years as we look fraternally forward to the rich promise of our fraternal future! Perge. Omega Mu Portrait Donald E. Cookson, 1959  Omega Mu Years   Mrs. Tate, Omega Mu Housemother    Mrs. Tate and Don Cookson, house president.  
  Lawrence A. McKay, Ronald G. Thurston, Joseph T. Cuccaro, and George A. Giostra    
 Campus Leader  Omega Mu Brothers: Joe Cucarro and Don Cookson 
 "Cookson Is Winner In Speech Contest."     "As a top student on campus both scholastically and extra - curricularly, Don Cookson is hard man to beat."    WORO Staff   Don Cookson, left.  "A 54 hour radiothon was held last weekend as part of the kickoff for the Hauck Campaingn. The radiothon featured music, news, and sports broadcast over WORO form the mall. Those braving the elements were (left to right) Don Cookson... "    
      “What if the space be long and wide, That parts us from our brother’s side A soul-joined chain unites our band, And memory links us hand in hand.” (Phi Gamma Delta fraternity song)    Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82 Perge Our Omega Mu veteran-brothers who served in the military are cherished and constant fraternal friends, and we would like to say thank you for the steadfast, purposeful commitment you made to our nation to defend those four freedoms we all believe in: “Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.” For those brothers who were killed in defense of these freedoms, they will always occupy a consecrated place in our linked fraternal heart because they exemplify the idea of superlative commitment, strength, and fortitude for the good to the end itself. The greatness of their collective purpose and will, on our nation’s behalf, will never be forgotten. By their “clear-eyed faith and fearless heart,” these brothers have left us a fraternal legacy that echoes what we often say about Omega Mu Fijis: “Perseverance and determination are omnipotent.” Their code of integrity, courage, duty, responsibility, and self-sacrifice on behalf of our nation is a powerful legacy we can all be proud of as Omega Mu Fijis. Whether it was at New Orleans, Red River, Fort Blakely, Marianna, San Juan Hill, Santiago de Cuba, Chateau-Thierry, Verdun, El Guettar, Elba, Monte Della Vedetta, the Battle of the Bulge, Rabaul, Inchon, Pusan, Chosin Reservoir, Pork Chop Hill, Hue, Easter Offensive, Phu Cat, The Iron Triangle, Hamburger Hill, la Drang Valley, Bien Hoa, Khe Sanh, Rumaila, Al-Batin, Medina Ridge, Kabul, Kandahar, our Omega Mu brothers have demonstrated devotion to duty in defense of freedom and liberty. They are the stability of our nation, and we, the Omega Mu brotherhood, revere, honor, and salute their persevering and determined spirit within our great nation and our historic brotherhood. We will always honor the heroism of all of our brothers who have served in the armed forces from the Civil War to the present. Thank you. Omega Mu Veteran Howard J. Stagg, III, 1937  Omega Mu Years      1935 Snow Sculpture     1936 Snow Sculpture    "Phi Gamma Delta, with a most remarkably executed tableau of a set of three figures on a raised dais, was adjudged as the winner."  "The artist responsible for this fine piece artistry were; Gordon Heath, James Dow, Robert Baker, and George Grange, although the entire fraternity did its part."
Gordon Heath and James Dow  George Grange        Phi Gamma Delta homecoming with Arthur Hauck, President of the University of Maine, seated at the center table, second person in from the left. Phi Gamma Delta brothers in this photo are George Hamlin, 1873, seated on the right front, second one in; Theodore Curtis, 1923, seated on the right, seventh person down.  University of Maine Athlete       
       World War II   Howard Stagg served with the Fourth Armored Division during World War II, and he retired a lieutenant colonel.  "The 4th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army that earned the distinction while spearheading General Patton's Third Army in the European theater of World War II."       Fourth Armored in Coutances.   Fourth Armored Division approaching Bastogne.  Pacific theater of World War II  At the conclusion of the European theater of operations, Howard Stagg was assigned to the staff of Admiral Nimitz to help plan the allied invasion of Japan. Operation Downfall    “What if the space be long and wide, That parts us from our brother’s side A soul-joined chain unites our band, And memory links us hand in hand.” (Phi Gamma Delta fraternity song)    Fraternally,
Chip Chapman, ’82 Perge |
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