by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Harlan Gardner turns 100 this week, and though he’s worn many hats in all those years — Marine tail gunner, hearse driver, and mail carrier among them — it’s clear he’s also spent years honing his Downeast wit. He has a perpetual twinkle in his eye.

“It’s a sad place to be, the last one of the line,” Harlan says, pausing. “I’m glad they picked a smart one to be on the end.”

Harlan Gardner was born in Marshfield, and today lives just around the bend from the house where he was raised, together with his wife of almost 69 years, Dorothy, who was raised in Machias. 

“He married a city girl, he said,” laughs Dorothy. 

The pair met in 1952 when Dorothy delivered a bag of nails to Harlan’s workplace, where he assisted an undertaker. They were married less than six months later.

“I was a fast worker,” says Harlan.

By that time, Harlan was many years back from his time in the Marine Corps during WWII, when he served as a radioman and tail gunner in a Grumman TBF Avenger. Though the Avenger was designed to drop torpedoes on submarines, Harlan says his crew often dropped supplies to ground troops, which was harrowing because the plane had to go in “low and slow”, making them vulnerable to groundfire.

“Since no one else is here to say it, I will,” says Harlan. “I was pretty darn good at what I did.”

In a written account of his years as a Marine sergeant, Harlan tells of the 1945 Okinawa campaign when his squadron, VMTB131, arrived at the island of Le Shima to fly ground support and offshore patrols. The Battle of Okinawa, which lasted from March to June 22, 1945,  included the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific theater of WWII.

“During late May and early June [1945] when torrential rains fell, the First Marine Division and the 77th Army Division could only be supplied by air,” wrote Harlan. “Marine Torpedo Squadron 131, flying low and slow in miserable weather, made over 100 paradrops of food, water, and ammunition, 93 percent of which were on target.” 

The squadron received the prestigious Presidential Unit Citation for the action and flight personnel, including Harlan, were given air medals.

“I have often thought of my service in WWII as helping put out a fire in my own barn. It was a job that had to be done and it was the right thing to do, but not especially heroic,” wrote Harlan. “I do feel that the flight crews of Marine Torpedo 131 earned their pay for a few weeks in 1945.”

Harlan and Dorothy have two daughters, four grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Granddaughter Katie Kurz says they’ve also welcomed dozens of other young people into the family, making Harlan and Dorothy so beloved, Kurz’s entire graduating class signed a yearbook to “Gram and Gramp”.

“They welcomed everyone into their home,” said Kurz. “I could drag [anyone] home at any time and they would be fed, and embraced.”

Katie Kurz and her mother Cindy Kurz recall one of Harlan’s stories about life in camp during WWII. A local Japanese man kept sneaking into the Marine camp, looking for food.

“They befriended him, he was hungry, and so they’d take him some of their rations,” says Katie.  

Then, there was a change of command.

“The new boss caught wind of what they were doing and wanted to take [the Japanese man] as a prisoner of war, so my grandfather and his buddies ran and found him,” says Katie. “Even though they didn’t speak the same language, they got the message across that he had to run and never come back. And he did, he got away. My grandfather always wondered about him.”

“He just thought everyone was the same and he couldn’t stand to hurt anyone,” said Katie. “That story touched me and moved me.”

During the Battle of Okinawa, on April 18, 1945, Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Ernie Pyle was killed by machine-gun fire on the island of Le Shima, where Harlan also spent time during the Okinawa campaign. Pyle was widely mourned, even by Gen. Dwight Eisenhower who said, “The GIs in Europe — and that means all of us — have lost one of our best and most understanding friends.”

Pyle made a lasting impression on Harlan, leaving behind a quote that has, Harlan says, had a great effect on how he’s tried to live his life — “I don’t see how any survivor of war can ever be cruel to anything again.”

Harlan references Pyle’s philosophy in a 2012 television commercial that debuted during the opening ceremonies of the summer Olympics, in support of Maine’s marriage equality referendum. Question 1 passed 54 to 47 percent, making Maine one of the first states to legalize same-sex marriage by popular vote, and making Gardner a celebrity.

Then 90, Harlan was widely referenced in the state and national media. Frank Bruni, New York Times opinion columnist, visited Marshfield and wrote an entire column about him, calling Harlan “Maine’s Marriage Hero”.

“I was the one that influenced them so much to get involved in the gay marriage vote,” said Katie. “I was the gay granddaughter, and they felt strongly about supporting rights for everyone.”

“Marriage is too precious a thing not to share,” Harlan says in the commercial. “This isn’t about politics. It’s about family, and how we as people treat one another.”

After retiring from the U.S. Postal Service in 1983, Harlan asked his next-door neighbor if he thought his postal customers would miss him.

“Kenny said, ‘Oh yes, but in a little while they’ll get used to getting their mail in the right box,’” recalls Harlan, with a straight face.

After retirement, Harlan turned his attention to his grandchildren and his many hobbies, including reading, cross country skiing, gardening, and genealogy. Harlan’s family tree dates back to the earliest settlers of the Machias area. Gardner Lake and Hadley Lake are both named for his ancestors.

Harlan has made his mark, too.

“He’s always been our greatest fan, of his kids, and of his grandkids,” says Cindy Kurz. “He’s a wonderful man.”

As a child growing up in Marshfield, Harlan Gardner attended the “Down the Roaders” school, as opposed to the “Up the Roaders” school, where the town office is located today. Gardner later walked two miles each way to attend Machias Memorial High School. Photo courtesy Gardner family

Harlan Gardner, seen here as a U.S. Marine in WWII, found he shared a philosophy with famed wartime correspondent Ernie Pyle, who said, “I don’t see how any survivor of war can ever be cruel to anything again.” Photo courtesy Gardner family