AUGUSTA -- The young Navy sailor wouldn't say why, he just told German immigrant Ingeborg Lapointe she should be on the deck of the troop ship carrying her into New York City by 4 a.m. on that day in March 1952.

While the other immigrants on the ship slept, Lapointe, then 21, slowly learned why it was so important she get up.

The Statue of Liberty grew larger and larger on the horizon, welcoming her to what would become her new country.

"This is for you," the sailor said from the front of the ship as the iconic statue showed herself on the horizon.

Lapointe, now 79 and an American citizen, said she still gets goose bumps when she thinks about seeing the Statue of Liberty that first time.

"You're a young girl leaving a war-torn country and coming across the ocean, and the Statue of Liberty is the first thing you see of America," Lapointe said. "You're just so humble. Speechless."

She said the sailor likely woke her up to see the statue while others slept because he felt sorry for her: Unlike most of the other immigrants, she was alone. Her family had stayed behind in Germany.

She said it made her feel special to be able to watch the statue grow closer from the ship.

Independence Day has been special to her ever since.

Lapointe said she and her family were refugees after the war. So she left to find her fortune in America. She thought it could take Germany many years to rebuild, so she figured she would probably work in America for a couple of years then return home.

Other than vacations back to Germany, however, she never went back. She has been in Augusta ever since she came to this country, having made her way here from New York City.

She went to work in the former Statler Tissue mill, and married the late Robert Lapointe about a year after her arrival.

The couple had four children. She became a naturalized citizen in the late 1950s.

Over the years, until recently, Lapointe has been a frequent and bluntly outspoken critic of city government. She said she has gotten too old to keep going to City Council meetings, however.

She said her taking a watchdog role over government comes from growing up in Germany as Hitler rose to power, and her strong belief in the U.S. Constitution.

"We had a good beginning in Germany, under Hitler, but we should have kept our eyes on him better," said Lapointe, noting she knew nothing about concentration camps as a young German girl.

She said she's frustrated that Americans, especially young people, she said, don't pay more attention to their government.

"This is such a great country, but it's changing so fast, and nobody seems to care," Lapointe said. "I think people need to take better care of this country. We've got a great Constitution. People need to hang onto it, not just let it go."

"If you want to be patriotic, go out and see what your government is doing," she said. "There's more to responsibility than putting a flag out."

Keith Edwards -- 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com