LEWISTON — One of the more interesting pieces of debris spotted floating down the Androscoggin River below the Longley Bridge since Monday’s torrential rainstorm and major flooding was an object that looked like a casket.

Riverside Cemetery in Lewiston said it was not one of theirs.

Speculation on Friday centered around if the casket was actually a time capsule that was buried at Veterans Memorial Park in Lewiston, which was severely damaged in the catastrophic floods that left the park underwater midweek.

L&A Veterans Council Chairman Jerry DeWitt said Friday that he did not know if the object came from the park or not.

“It could be,” DeWitt said. “Until I see it, I don’t know.” He added if the object is the time capsule, it will have military markings on the lid.

Describing it as more of a vault, DeWitt said the time capsule was buried in the park near the Vietnam War wall monument which sat near the river in the back of the park. He added that the time capsule appears missing from its former location.

The vault was filled with flowers, pins, medals, pictures and other keepsakes that were left after a replica of the Vietnam Wall visited the park in 2007. The vault was then sealed and lowered into a 4-by-8-foot hole at the apex of the replica wall.

“We’ve used the term time capsule, but it’s meant to be a dignified way to remember veterans and the wall’s visit,” said a representative of the group that sponsored the visit in 2007.

It remains unclear if the vault from Veterans Memorial Park is the mystery casket. Some observers on social media have claimed they saw it behind the former Pineland Lumber company and others say they saw it come over the falls, which would be impossible if it is indeed the missing time capsule.

The three ridges along the top of the vault buried at the park in 2007, as seen in the accompanying photo, look very similar to the ridges on the top of the item photographed in the river and the objects appear to be about the same size as a coffin.

CLEANUP BEGINS AT THE PARK

Volunteers began the task Friday of recovering the damaged items and tipped-over stones. Using an excavator donated by Easy Rent-All of Lewiston, volunteers worked at water’s edge to retrieve the damaged memorial benches. DeWitt said every bench except one was located, and that one might be among the broken pieces recovered. The benches were taken by Collette Monuments of Lewiston, who will determine a plan on how to restore them.

DeWitt estimated that five of the benches found down the embankment and in the river were broken. Several others were found upside down and even buried that were undamaged.

The jeep was stabilized on top of its pedestal and fill was used to pack the hole below it. A crane will be brought in the first of the year when the ground is firm enough to take the jeep down, DeWitt said.

All of the granite monuments with names of local veterans are safe, and three of the ones that fell were put upright Friday, DeWitt said.

Roughly a half dozen volunteers, including members of the National Guard, came to the park Friday morning to help.

“They were a godsend,” DeWitt said.

DeWitt had especially high praise for volunteer Nathan Landry, who helped operate the excavator to recover pieces without further damaging them.

Boy Scouts and other individuals stop by to help Friday, but DeWitt said it was still too dangerous for them to help now. He will welcome them back at a later date when things become more safe.

Those looking to help can send donations to the L&A Veterans Council, PO Box 2316, Lewiston, Maine 04240. DeWitt asked that those donations be marked as “for cleanup of the park.”

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Photos/video: Picking up the pieces in Veterans Memorial Park in Lewiston

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