By Rick Burke, Navy Office
of Community Outreach
PORTLAND, MAINE - A 1949
Peabody High School graduate and native of Peabody, Massachusetts, volunteers in the Portland, Maine, community to help those in need.
Everett White is a retired
homebuilder who has volunteered his services at the Habitat for Humanity of
Greater Portland for thirteen years.
“The construction business
was very good to me in life,” said White. “Being able to give back my expertise
and volunteer to help the people that are less fortunate is something that I am
pretty proud of.”
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland
is committed to the development and uplifting of families and communities. In
three decades, they have built 68 homes, served more than two hundred people
with stable, affordable housing, engaged hundreds of business and civic
partners, and enlisted the support of thousands of volunteers.
White received the Golden
Hammer award for his outstanding volunteer service to Habitat for Humanity and
a framed certificate award from his fellow volunteers. He received an appreciation
award from the American Legion of Topsfield, Massachusetts American, for
supervising the construction of ramps for a handicap veteran.
White is a Korean War
veteran who served over three years in the Navy as a radarman aboard USS
Barton. He was responsible for reading surface and air systems for the combat
information systems department.
Barton was a destroyer that
served in both WWII and the Korean War.
The ship’s mission was reconnaissance patrols on the Eastern coastline
looking for enemy ships.
White has military ties
with family members who have previously served and is honored to carry on the
family tradition.
“My dad was a WWI
veteran and served as a medic for the medical company of U.S. Army Expeditionary Force, that deployed to France during the German occupation 100
years ago,” said White. “At the age of 50, my father passed away partially due
to a poisonous gas attack he was succumbed to when he was there. To this day,
his 70-year-old casket gets flown over four times a year along with 60 other casket
flags of deceased veterans under the auspicious of my American Legion Post in
Yarmouth, Maine.”
“He was a very patriotic
man, and I took with me his patriotism into my Naval service and civilian
life,” said White.
White’s proudest
accomplishment in the Navy was receiving a medal and ribbon for his exemplary
service and dedication to his country.
“Receiving a Good Conduct
Medal and the Korean War Service Ribbon were my greatest achievements while in
the Navy,” said White.
After his Naval service, White's greatest enjoyment was raising two successful daughters, two accomplished
grandchildren and being married to his high school sweetheart for 64 years.
The morals and values instilled from
serving in the Navy have molded White into a better person and developed
essential traits that helped him succeed in life both professionally and
personally.
“I enjoyed every minute of
being in the Navy, even when I did tough jobs,” added White. “It made me a
better person and I’m still involved with the American Legion helping the
community. This never would have happened if I did not serve in the
Navy.”
White and his spouse of 64
years, Jean White, reside in Cumberland, Maine.
They have two daughters. The oldest, Max White, is a professor at the
University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin. The youngest, Debra White, works
in the marketing department for L.L. Bean in Freeport, Maine. They have two
grandchildren, Chloe and Wyatt Kilburn.