Korean War veteran Earl “Red” Dube honored for service (Bristol Press)

Article as it appeared in the Bristol Press

Bristol bits

Earl Dube, right, is honored at the Bristol Senior Center Wednesday for his military service in the Korean War and contributions to the community.

Korean War veteran Earl “Red” Dube was honored by his military peers and others at the Bristol Senior Center on Wednesday morning. Mayor Ken Cockayne, former mayor Art Ward, family, friends and others were in attendance to thank “Red” for both his military service and community contributions to Bristol.

I arrived about 10 minutes late and that was when Carol Denehy of the Bristol Memorial Military Museum was at the podium reading some of Earl’s experiences during the Korean War, those written by her late husband, Jack Denehy, founder and president of the military museum who had interviewed the guest of honor a few years ago. Dave Carello from the Bristol Veterans Council presented him with a framed American Flag and told the audience, “They don’t make a flag big enough for someone who has served us in Korea and the Bristol community.”

Tim Gamache, also from the Bristol Veterans Council, came to the podium and added, “It’s been a pleasure knowing you all these years.”

Others speaking at the gathering were Joel Boutwell, commander of Americn Legion Post 2 in Bristol, and Earl’s longtime friend, Bob Barnett. Emcee for the gathering was Jim Bousquet, chairman of the Koren War Veterans Association.

The following is a segment from Earl’s Korean War story:

“It was not long before I saw my first death. Five of us were formed into a patrol, and we were ordered to go up to the top of a nearby mountain and burn down a large farm building. Intelligence believed that the North Koreans were using the building as an observation post. We had a lieutenant and a radio man with us. On our way up we came upon a lone MP at a road junction who directed us to take a different trail because we were heading towards an infantry fire fight. We could hear the gunfire off in the distance which faded as we climbed up the mountain.”

Upon completing their assignment, the Bristol soldier and his comrades started their trek back to their unit.

“We came down from the mountain and arrived at the place where the MP had been stationed. Something was not right. He was sitting in a hunched position on the ground. When we got to him, we could see that he was dead. Someone had run a bayonet into his back.”

In closing, Earl has been active with the Bristol American Legion Post 2 and the Korean War veterans group for many years and was always someone who spoke his mind. He is highly respected in the local veterans community.