Born and raised in Bar Harbor, Maine, George Kirk’s athletic skills brought this son of Irish Catholic laborers to the University of Maine, where he excelled in basketball, and especially football, earning All-Maine honors at halfback. An SU alum and a friend of his family suggested George transfer to SU.
George entered SU as a junior. His playing in football in 1916 and basketball in 1916–17 led to his election as Captain of the Football and Basketball teams for his senior seasons in 1917–18. But in April 1917, the U.S. entered World War I. George enlisted in the Army and after training, in Oct. 1917, during what would have been his senior seasons, George and his Infantry Division sailed to France.
By the summer of 1918, George had been promoted to Second Lieutenant. His machine gun company saw intense action in two major battles: Chateau-Thierry (June through July 1918) and St. Mihiel (September 1918), which wiped out nearly everyone in his unit but George. He suffered from poisonous gas sickness but was otherwise uninjured. His valor in battle earned him another promotion to Captain. Homesick, he wrote to his parents that, “If I ever get back to little ol’ Bar Harbor again, I’ll stick.”
In Oct. 1918, while on two-hour leave in France, George saw an old friend from Bar Harbor, Lt. John Ash, who noted George “looked fine and was in the best spirits. Same old George.” But soon after, George entered the hospital with pneumonia and was still there when the war ended on Nov. 11, 1918.
Determined to lead his troops (and probably to honor his fallen comrades), George left the hospital against doctor’s orders, and marched proudly into conquered Germany with Allied Forces. But he was quickly sent back to the hospital, and died a few days later, with a nurse at his side, while other troops celebrated the victory. The nurse wrote a letter to his parents. On the day of his funeral, one week before Christmas 1918, every store in Bar Harbor closed, so that everyone could pay their respects.
At home and at SU, friends remembered George as strong and capable. Nobody was surprised he had fought bravely and well. But to die from illness, after the war had ended, was especially painful for his family and many friends. In June 1919, SU and the community held a parade through town and a banquet in the Alumni Gym to celebrate the return of their veterans. But they paused to remember the tragic loss of five of their own: Joe Covert (pneumonia), George Kirk (pneumonia), Wendell Phillips (influenza), Samuel Rhine (influenza) and Brewster Cameron Shoch (killed in action). The ultimate sacrifice made by George Kirk, and each of these young men, should never be forgotten.
