By Bonnie Washuk,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Until Thursday, local vets had never marked the end of the Korean War.

A noon ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park changed that.

Bert Dutil, 76, and 10 other Korean War veterans were joined by about 15 others who came to honor the vets who served in the war that ended July 27, 1953.

Dutil was a 20-year-old soldier in the U.S. Army in 1952 when he was sent to defend South Korea from the spread of communism.

“It was hard, especially on the front line,” he said. After about a month of fighting he was pulled off the front line because French interpreters were needed. He spoke French. From that point he worked for the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission.

“I was there when they signed the armistice,” Dutil said.

Standing in front of a veterans monument, Dutil recited a “Freedom Isn’t Free” poem. The phrase “freedom isn’t free” was a motto for Korean War soldiers, Dutil said.

Joseph Paradis, 76, of Lewiston, also a Korean War veteran, spoke briefly, recalling that 54,246 American soldiers died in the war. Another 103,284 were wounded.

He was one of the wounded.

Paradis was in Korea from 1950-53. As a boy, he was in need of a home, and a good family took him in. At age 17, he wanted to give back, so he joined the Army.

In Korea he was seriously wounded, captured and kept as a prisoner of war. Paradis declined to talk about that.

“I’m still having a hard time sleeping,” he said. “I’m on medication for that. It’s rough. But I keep my mouth shut, and I live through it.”

He came out of the war disabled from his wounds. “I learned 18 years ago I put everything to sleep, and I feel better.” He keeps a low profile and does for others. “You can never do enough for veterans.”

Raymond Lemieux of Lewiston had just turned 18 in 1953. He was a Marine, about to be deployed to Korea. Suddenly, instead of being sent to war, he was transferred to a supply base. “I was kind of disappointed and relieved at the same time,” he said.

The Korean War wasn’t popular back home, Lemieux said. People didn’t want any part of it. “That’s probably one of the reasons they call it the forgotten war.'”

Bill Bradbury, 45, of Lewiston, was the youngest veteran at the ceremony. He brought his 7-year-old son. Bradbury served in the U.S. Navy during the Iran hostage crisis in 1979, on a ship a mile from Iran.

He came Thursday “because they don’t do enough for Korean veterans. They don’t do enough for veterans, period.”

Bradbury wants people to remember that Korean War soldiers are still missing and to be aware of the sacrifices war demands. As to the current war in Iraq, Bradbury believes it’s too political. “It’s turning out to be a quagmire, like Vietnam.”

Thursday’s ceremony was small, but it meant a lot to many people, Dutil said.

Looking at the small crowd he asked, “How many were in Korea?”

Eleven men, now old, raised their hands.

“Thank you,” Dutil said.

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