History

The post received its charter on July 26th 1934 due to the efforts of the first commander A.A. Smith, Clayton Smith and thirty five other signatories. They selected to name the post after Dyle E Bray after a thorough investigation.

Dyle was the son of Mr.  & Mrs. Albert H. Bray. He had a sister Ethel and two brothers Herman and Russell. He attended school in Bangor. He was well liked and employed as a highly skilled textile worker prior to his enlistment in the US Army Infantry. He received high honors and medals for bravery under fire on the battlefields of France during the First World War. He was killed by enemy machine gun fire on October 23rd, 1918. He was the first man from Bangor killed in action during World War I. Mr. Bray lies in rest with the rest of his family in St. Johns Cemetery.

The first meetings of the new post were held in the Republican Club hall and then Steinmetz Hall. In June of 1937 it was decided place a bid of $510 for the Myers Crossing School House. The school house is the small white building on the south of our driveway.  The bid was accepted and the school house became the first permanent VFW Post 739 home.

The home association was incorporated on December 13th, 1937 and the ladies auxiliary was founded on October 22nd 1935.

During the next ten years the post was looking for property to erect a future home. Between 1944 and 1946 they purchased parcels of property which became our current home. In 1947 plans were drawn up for a new building and a ground breaking was held. The main building was constructed by contractor Arlington Stiles on an hourly and material cost basis with much of the inside and finish work to be completed by member volunteers. Original plans were for a two story building with a very large auditorium as the top floor to be used also as a community athletic hall for basketball games etc. For the time it was agreed we would construct a building with a first or semi ground floor only with the proper steel and foundation for adding the top floor if the need arose. Construction went on during 1948 and they moved in the following year.

In October 1961 a mortgage burning was held. The pavilion was erected in 1962 and in 1964 the gun was mounted out front. During 1963 and 1964 the records and photo’s of all past commanders were secured and displayed in a case in the canteen. 1973 saw the upgrade of the front walk and a canopy was added.

The post continued to grow and update through the 70’s and 80’s.

On October 10th 2009, the post celebrated its 75th anniversary with a dinner and dance.