During World War II, from 1941 to 1945, more than 112,000 Mainers served in the war and 2,551 gave their lives for freedom. The jeep was a vehicle used across all branches of the U.S. Armed Services. In Bangor, 4,914 citizens served the country in World War II and 110 lost their lives. The Bangor Public Library displays each day the history of a Bangor veteran killed during the war. Major General Lunsford Oliver, battlefield commander of the 5th Armored Division in World War II, challenged his troops by saying that the same spirit that drove them to their achievements in the war would lead them to make the country a better place to live, improve international relations, and prevent future wars so that the heroic dead would not have died in vain. The Purple Heart is awarded for wounds or death resulting from an act of an opposing armed force and was first awarded by General George Washington in 1783. The jeep driver is the sculptured likeness of Bangor native Charles A. Flanagan, who was killed in action on Nov. 25, 1944.