Rachel Desgrosseilliers, center, presents William Burns’ flag Sunday to firefighters Brady Downing, left and Josh Daigle at a small ceremony Sunday at the North Temple Street fire station in Lewiston. Desgrosseilliers has been caretaker of the flag since his funeral, as Burns had no living relatives. Behind her is Desgrosseilliers’ family. From the left: Leo Baillargeon, Kim Langlois, Adalynn Langlois, 6, Gail Baillargeon, Emma DeFlumere, Amanda DeFlumere, Shawn Langlois, Anita Grenier, Paul Grenier, Cecile Langlois, Chloe DeFlumere, 8 and Andy Langlois.  Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

LEWISTON — Local woman Rachel Desgrosseilliers presented William J. Burns’ military funeral flag to the North Temple Street fire station Sunday afternoon in a small ceremony attended by family members and on-duty firefighters.

Burns, born in 1915 and a longtime Warren Avenue resident, served in the Pacific Theater of World War II as a photographer who gathered information from behind enemy lines.

“We grew up on Warren Avenue, and Mr. Burns was our neighbor across the street,” Desgrosseilliers said. “We always watched for each other in the neighborhood.”

Burns did not have any remaining family members in the latter years of his life, so when the man’s health began to concern Desgrosseilliers’ parents, she came around and took over his health care planning. Standing by his side in that caregiver role for seven years until his death in 2003, Desgrosseilliers and her family were the only ones who could claim the flag.

“I had it for quite a few years, and I’m getting older, and I don’t have anybody to pass it on to in his family,” Desgrosseilliers said, “So, I called (the fire department) and said ‘maybe we can make some use of it.’”

Captain Rick Cailler thought the department should do something with the flag, but took pause at the idea of flying it above the station.

“Rachel was, essentially, just going to donate the flag (as one) we deploy at our central station,” Cailler said. “That would have been just a couple months of a flag and then we’d have to replace it. When I found out that he was a World War II photographer working behind the scenes — I really didn’t think that was a good way to remember him.”

Adalynn Langlois, 6, smiles Sunday at her grandfather, Andy Langlois from the seat of a fire engine at the North Temple Street fire station in Lewiston. The family had visited the station for a ceremony to honor a World War ll veteran.  Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

So, Desgrosseilliers and Cailler came up with a plan to keep the flag on display at the very same fire station that would deploy crews for emergencies in Burns’ Warren Avenue neighborhood.

The case displaying the flag also came with a brief writeup on Burns’ life in the military and in the community. When he returned from the war, Burns stayed in his hometown, working at Bates Mill for over 30 years, mostly as its payroll master.

Burns was also a lynchpin of his neighborhood, Desgrosseilliers said after the ceremony. Her father, Cyrille Baillargeon and Burns were a study in true neighborliness and friendship, she said — Baillargeon speaking not a word of English, and Burns the typical Irish-American stoic. The two got along famously and kept watch over their street and its many children.

As many men of a certain age resort to looks and grunts as a main method of communication, the two men cared for their neighborhood and took great pleasure in watching it prosper while looking out for one another, Desgrosseilliers said.

“They communicated out of sheer concern for each other. We need more neighborhoods like that today, where everybody watches over everybody else and helps everybody else. He also teased us a lot. If he could catch us in a little prank or something, he was all excited. You wouldn’t think it because, looking at his face, he was such a very serious, very humble person. But when he caught you — he’d have the greatest chuckle.”

Rachel Desgrosseilliers, center, presents William Burns’ flag Sunday to firefighters Brady Downing, left and Josh Daigle at a small ceremony Sunday at the North Temple Street fire station in Lewiston. Desgrosseilliers has been caretaker of the flag since his funeral, as Burns had no living relatives. Behind her is Desgrosseilliers’ family. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal) Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

The honor of keeping Burns’ flag goes beyond the man’s impressive military background, Cailler said. Keeping his story on display also means keeping a bit of old Lewiston alive in the new station.

“I think it’s a nice reflection of what neighborhoods used to be,” Cailler said, “And it’s a nice way to remember him.”