World War II Veteran Honored by the City of Sanford

For Immediate Release
April 15, 2022

World War II Veteran Honored by the City of Sanford
98 Year Old POW Leon J. Tanguay is recognized with a street named after him
 
Sanford, Maine - Sherburne Street in Sanford is now called Tanguay Street in honor of 98-year old Leon J. Tanguay,  a World War II veteran and former Prisoner of War (POW). The recognition comes after city officials recognized there was too much confusion since a second Sherburne Street exists in Springvale. Says Sanford Code Enforcement Officer Jamie Cole, “We realized we needed to change the name to stay in compliance with the Emergency 911 system, which prohibits two streets with the same name in close proximity. When we asked the residents of Sherburne Street for ideas, Tanguay’s name was suggested and we agreed he is deserving of the honor.” 
Tanguay says he “feels amazing,” that the street has been renamed in his honor. He says he didn’t expect the recognition but is thrilled: “I want to thank the City of Sanford and my family for making this happen.” 

Leon Tanguay was born on April 11, 1924, in Sanford to Ernest and Lydia Tanguay. He was the tenth of twelve children. Tanguay recounts that he spent most of his childhood working on the family farm in Springvale. He says he was forced to leave high school after his father became ill. At that point he got a job at the Sanford Mills. Following the outbreak of World War II, he started working at a Portland shipyard. Tanguay’s commute to Portland was the farthest from Sanford he had traveled. 
 
In 1943, a month before Leon Tanguay’s 19th birthday, he received a draft notice for the US Army. Following training, Tanguay and others left Boston and headed for England, awaiting the invasion of Normandy. As a scout, Tanguay says he had gone out ahead of his platoon as they made their way inland from the beaches of Normandy. Alone just outside of Saint-Sever, France, Tanguay was captured by the Germans.
 
He spent nine months as a prisoner of war in Germany. He and the other POWs spent most of their time working on Germany's railroad, digging potatoes and digging holes in a forest where trees were to be planted. Tanguay say he witnessed the Nazi’s cruelty firsthand.  
 
After learning Allied forces were arriving soon, the German guards fled the camp and left Tanguay and his fellow prisoners behind. In April 1945, a few months before the war ended, they were liberated. When Tanguay arrived stateside, he hitchhiked over 100 miles home.
 
In 1947, following his return to Sanford, Tanguay purchased his house on Sherburne Street where he and his wife raised four daughters and a son. His children have moved out and his wife has passed away but he still lives in the home he bought 75 years ago. 
 
Tanguay says he got right back to work after returning home from Europe, and he began working as a plasterer with his father. Despite living through an experience many could not fathom, Leon says, “My greatest life accomplishment was teaching myself how to build large stone fireplaces.” In the 1950s a man in Saco “took a chance” on him and asked Leon to build a stone fireplace, despite having never done so before. This opportunity kicked off Leon’s fifty-year career as a stonemason, working on some of the Seacoast’s finest homes. Leon retired from masonry in 2009 at the age of 85.
 
After living a busy life, Leon has some simple but sage advice - “Eat good, get a good night’s sleep, stay away from booze, and be the best parent you can be.”

Sanford City Manager Steve Buck says, “The City needed to rename a street and in the process learned the history of an American Hero, Leon Tanguay a WWII veteran, and discovered such an outpouring of respect and support for the street to memorialize his name.  If not for renaming the street, many of us would never have learned of Leon’s amazing life and contributions and now we are able to honor his name in this way.”