Local veterans broke bread and shared war stories Oct. 15 with lobstermen during an appreciation dinner held at the Charles E. Sherman, Jr. American Legion Hall in Boothbay. The Legion invited 14 Boothbay region lobstermen who provided boats for a Sept. 22 cruise transporting 63 disabled veterans and their families around the harbor.

This is the second time in three years local lobstermen participated in the two-hour cruise. The lobstermen and veterans ate a spaghetti dinner then heard two Legion members recall memorable World War II stories. Boothbay Harbor residents George Whitten, a Battle of the Bulge combat veteran and engineer, recounted his defying orders in building a bridge, and Korean War veteran Palmer Payne recalled his cousin’s World War II experience surviving the Bataan Death March.

Whitten, 93, along with his battalion, were waiting for materials to repair a bridge connecting Luxembourg and Belgium. The project was delayed for several hours for lumber to connect two major gaps in the bridge.

Whitten believed the delay was unnecessary. He tried persuading the battalion’s commander to use engineering principles to lift the bridge in connecting the two gaps. But Whitten failed to convince the battalion’s lieutenant. In 1942, Whitten described himself as a “21-year-old who looked 12” and his youthful appearance didn’t gain his superior’s confidence. Despite being told “no,” Whitten defied orders. The bridge was lifted using a heavy crane and the two gaps were connected in a few minutes.

“It took 20 minutes, not four  hours,” he said. “I got the Bronze Star for it, but I should’ve gotten more. I guess I’m lucky. I went against orders and the lieutenant wanted to court martial me, and if found guilty, I would’ve been shot!”

The second war story moved from Europe to the War in the Pacific. Payne told about his cousin Andy Miller’s military ordeal. Miller left his Nebraska home in 1938 to attend college. After one year studying engineering at a small Indiana college, he transferred to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. But Miller didn’t remain at MIT for long. Miller needed a job so he enlisted in the U.S. Army.

In August 1941, he was sent to the Philippines. Payne used family letters to document his cousin’s four-plus year military experience in the South Pacific and time as a POW.

When Miller was sent to the South Pacific, he weighed 175 pounds. By January 1942, he’d lost 40 pounds. Payne said his cousin’s weight loss showed how unprepared the U.S. Army was in defending its South Pacific bases or fighting a world war.

“They were on half rations even before the war started or the Japanese captured them. It shows how unprepared the country was for war,” Payne said.

By May 1942, the Americans had surrendered the Philippine Islands and Miller and other survivors were taken as prisoners. The ordeal had taken its toll on Miller. He became sick with several illnesses including dysentery, infectious hepatitis, beriberi and scurvy. His weight loss continued and now he weighed 115 pounds.

Miller spent 4.5 years as a Japanese POW. In July 1944, Japanese moved their prisoners from the Philippine Islands to Japan. On Aug. 15, 1945, Miller and his fellow captives awoke and found no guards within the camp. Miller left camp and began searching for food. Eventually he discovered a U.S. cruiser located in Nagasaki, Japan. The cruiser was preparing for voyage to San Francisco. Miller boarded the ship and headed home.

After returning stateside, he spent time in several military hospitals, but the newly created U.S. Veterans Administration struggled to provide him with the proper care, according to Payne.

“Andy was so malnutritioned, the VA didn’t know how to care for him and sent him home to Nebraska,” Payne said.

Miller recovered and resumed college at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. At 26, he became the oldest member of the college swim team. His time in the South Pacific showed in his appearance. “His hair was completely white and he was still a young man,” Payne said.

Miller became an aeronautical engineer in New Mexico. He raised two sons and lived to the age of 86. “He lived a happy life,” Payne said.

The local American Legion hopes to provide the lobster boat tours on an annual basis. Legion Vice Commander Phil Chapman hopes more disabled veterans and their families will take the harbor tour in the future.