LEWISTON — Bert Dutil’s story may soon be preserved permanently by the Franco-American Collection at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College.

Dutil, the son of Lewiston millworkers, was present in the city of Pyongyang, North Korea, on July 27, 1953, when U.S. and Korean generals signed the armistice halting the Korean War.

And he was there because he was a Franco.

“Somebody in the Army saw on a form that I could speak French,” said Dutil, 84. “They made me an interpreter. And I saw the whole thing.”

The collection was awarded a $10,477 Common Heritage Grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities. It’s specifically dedicated to preserving the military experiences and related cultural materials of Maine’s Franco-American population.

Plans call for a one-day digitization event aimed at collecting stories and artifacts of Franco-American military service. The event, to be held in the fall, is tentatively scheduled to follow a trio of lectures to begin in May. Speakers will talk about Franco experiences in wars and present cherished materials already part of the collection. They include uniforms, medals, photos and oral histories.

Dutil plans to attend the USM event and share all he has with the collection.