A new ferry serving Maine’s most remote year-round island is honoring the service of a World War II veteran and member of the Penobscot Nation.

The Charles Norman Shay honors a 100-year-old Mainer who served as a combat medic during the D-Day invasion. The ferry will primarily serve Matinicus Isle, which is 23 miles off the coast of Rockland.

It’s the first state ferry named for a Native American.

After joking that many island residents first nominated their “favorite uncle” to be the ferry’s namesake, Matinicus resident Eva Murray said they reached out to a Penobscot historian to learn more about ways they could honor a tribal member.

Then, when they heard Shay’s story — he served in the first wave on Omaha Beach in Normandy in 1944 and again in the Korean War — they wanted to honor him.

“It was obvious to everybody that all of Maine would be proud of this man and that it would be an honor for our tiny community to help shine light on this heroic Mainer,” said Murray, one of about 74 year-round residents on the island.

During a Thursday commissioning ceremony in Rockland, Shay’s nephew Tim Shay described his uncle as someone with “strong humility but strong pride as well.”

“The idea that he chose to be a medic, to save lives rather than to take lives, says a lot about who he is and how he carries himself,” he said.

Charles Norman Shay turned 100 in June and was not able to travel from his home in France to attend the ceremony. But in previously recorded remarks, he said he wished his parents were still alive to see the ferry dedication.

“It’s a great honor for me,” he said. “I feel very proud to have a boat bearing my name right where my ancestors had their summer encampment. That means a lot to me.”

Penobscot Nation Tribal Council member Maria Girouard said the Penobscot have used the state’s waterways as their highways for thousands of years. She said many place names come from the Penobscot language, including Matinicus, which “refers to the island’s location far out in the bay.”

“It feels fitting that Charles’ legacy of service, selflessness and dignified accomplishments be commemorated through the naming of the Matinicus ferry for him,” she said. “Traversing ancestral waters to a place where Penobscot peoples’ presence has existed since time immemorial.”

The 104-foot ferry can carry 149 passengers and seven cars. The $11.7 million vessel, built in Alabama, will be put into service later this month.

Maine Department of Transportation Commissioner Bruce Van Note said during the two plus hour trip to the island, he hopes travelers get a chance to reflect on Shay’s story.

For his service in World War II, Shay was awarded the Silver Star. He served in the Battle of the Bulge and spent one month in a German prison camp after he was crossing the Rhine River.

For his service in the Korean War, he earned three Bronze Stars for bravery.

“It’s our sincere hope that when people ride this ferry, they just pause every so often when they look at the namesake and know what a special person it’s named for,” Van Note said.