You’ve seen them, walking in tight formation along a

spectator-lined parade route, bedecked in their blue and red Maine

Dirigo tartan kilts – a couple dozen bagpipers and drummers with a

public safety background combining to power out a mesmerizing

marching tune. They’re the Maine Public Safety Pipe & Drum

Corps, formed in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks to solemnly honor

those Mainers who lived or died in the line of duty.

You’ve seen them, walking in tight formation along a spectator-lined parade route, bedecked in their blue and red Maine Dirigo tartan kilts – a couple dozen bagpipers and drummers with a public safety background combining to power out a mesmerizing marching tune.

They’re the Maine Public Safety Pipe & Drum Corps, formed in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks not only to amaze spectators with their musical skill, but also to solemnly honor those Mainers who lived or died in the line of duty, be they police officers, firefighters, dispatchers or members of the military.

The public face of the band, retired Cape Elizabeth police officer Vaughn Dyer, serves as the drum major and on-road leader of the band. Dyer can be seen at the Maine Highland Games or numerous parades leading a train of kilt-clad drummers and pipers at a leisurely pace, to match the 84-beats-per-minute marching tunes, swinging his Scottish mace in a steady rhythm from his chest to his side. Behind him, a row of honor guard members proudly hoist the American, Maine and Corps flags.

The band, 35 members strong at this point, officially registered with the state as a nonprofit in 2005, but its beginnings go back to the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, when founding members realized Maine, unlike other states such as Massachusetts and New York, where public safety pipe and drum corps are commonplace, was devoid of a Scottish band existing primarily to play for public safety employees’ line-of-duty deaths.

“There has been an upswell of patriotism following Sept. 11 and that is still happening now,” Dyer said. “Daily, our band is here to honor veterans and public safety and those who have given their lives for the public. That’s why we’re here.”

The members are from all over the greater Portland area – from Scarborough to Standish, Buxton to Biddeford, Windham and Westbrook. They meet weekly in Freeport or Portland to practice and master their difficult instruments. Each member has some connection, either strong or loose, to public safety or the military, and each relish the chance to be part of the band.

While band origins may not be readily apparent for those listening as they pass on a parade route, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon were the catalyst for the band’s genesis, says Mike Demers, one of the band’s founding members and a 26-year veteran of the Biddeford Fire Department.

“Sept. 11 played a big part because we felt it should never be forgotten, and funerals for members of public safety or the military should never be charged for,” Demers said. “And we decided to form the corps because there was really nobody else doing it, and we felt there should be.”

There were other Scottish bands in Maine at the time, Demers said, but none provided soloists free of charge for funerals of public safety or military members. A handful of people who already played either the drums or bagpipes were key in the formation, but it took several years before the band was incorporated in 2005.

Shawn Theberge, a Windham resident and Westbrook Fire-Rescue Department paramedic, as well as the band’s pipe major, was also key in forming the group. The coordinator for Westbrook’s Sept. 11 memorial service that is held every year at Westbrook’s Central Station, Theberge said the idea for the band germinated following the 2002 ceremony.

“For that first ceremony in 2002 we found some pipers and drummers interested in playing and afterward started talking about forming a band, that’s where it got its start, people just saying we needed a band to represent public safety,” Theberge said.

The band got a $25,000 no-interest loan from the St. Andrews Society of Maine, a Scottish group based in Topsham that promotes Scottish heritage, to pay for clothing kits, which can be several hundreds of dollars.

According to Dyer, the group’s drum major who now lives in Topsham after retiring from the Cape Elizabeth Police Department in 2007, the band was able to pay off the loan within five years.

“We paid it back ahead of time actually. And we thanked them profusely,” he said.

Over the years, the band has grown from several people to several dozen people. In 2004, Buxton’s Michael Lundin, a 29-year-old Gorham firefighter and avid bagpiper, got an email broadcasting to area public safety departments that the group was forming and inviting those interested to an introductory meeting in July of that year.

“Whenever I saw bagpipers in a marching unit, I always got goose bumps, so when I got the notice a band was forming I jumped on board,” said Lundin, married and pursuing a nursing degree.

Since joining, Lundin has played at “many, many funerals” and said he is “always honored to play for those who were involved in public safety.” One of the most moving experiences he had was joining with several hundred other pipers from public safety bands in other states as they paid tribute to two firefighters killed during a 2007 fire in Roxbury, Mass.

“We’re part of a close-knit group,” Lundin said. “You’re part of something that honors people who gave their lives for the public. That’s very special.”

Biddeford resident Ashley Peterson, who joined last year after serving six years in the U.S. Navy medical corps, had a similar reason for joining.

“It’s a way for me to give back,” the 26-year-old said.

According to Theberge, the pipe and drum corps plays about 20 funerals a year, ranging from fallen Iraq and Afghanistan soldiers to active duty police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty. Most performances, which usually consist of a solo piper playing standards such as “Amazing Grace,” are played for retired public safety officials who have died.

“For any police, fire, dispatch, we try to play,” Theberge said. “We do our best to provide a piper, but sometimes work schedules don’t allow us to participate, but we do the best we can.”

Pat Kelly, a 51-year-old drummer from Scarborough and a civilian member of the band, played for former Gorham Police Chief Edmund Hagen’s funeral service in 2007, saying it was a fitting example of the service the band provides.

“It’s a way to thank them for their service,” said Kelly, who was born in Sterling, Scotland.

Kelly’s sentiments are shared by Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce of Standish, a member of the band for two years now. Joyce plays bagpipes, and his wife, Penny, is a member of the honor guard, along with Irene LeClaire of Windham.

“Bagpipers have always been linked to the military, leading men to battle, so there’s some history there,” Joyce said. “And any time you can give back to those who lay their life on the line, it just sends chills up your spine. It’s an honor none of us take lightly.”

And when the band’s pipers and drummers do have the chance to play a funeral, drum major Dyer said members take it to heart.

“To be asked to play at a funeral is a huge honor. It has to be done with dignity and with all due respect given to the fallen and the family. You want to look your best and play your best,” he said.

With a flourish of his mace, Vaughn Dyer, a retired Cape
Elizabeth police officer, marks the end of a song for the Maine
Public Safety Pipe & Drum Corps. The 35-member group, formed 
in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, plays at
funerals for public safety personnel. “Daily, our band is here to
honor veterans and public safety and those who have given their
lives for the public,” he said. “That’s why we’re here.” (Photo by
Rich Obrey)
The Maine Public Safety Pipe & Drum Corps
Ashley Peterson, of Biddeford
Brian Young, of Scarborough
Carol Waig, of Windham
Dennis Welch, of Windham
Irene LeClaire, of Windham
Kevin Joyce, right, Cumberland County sheriff, and wife
Penny
Michael Lundin, of Buxton
Pat Kelly, of Scarborough
Val Graffa, of Gray