Cpl. Duane Dewey smiled under his wide-brimmed hat as he shook hands with UF student veterans Thursday morning.
Around his neck lay the Medal of Honor he received in 1952. The 85-year-old Marine veteran is Alachua County’s only living Medal of Honor recipient. He came to UF to celebrate national Medal of Honor Day, which was Thursday, said Randall Martin, who organized the event. Dewey and four other Korean War veterans spoke with students at the UF Collegiate Veterans Success Center about their experiences in the military.
Martin, the cabinet director of Veterans Affairs, said there was no cost for the event besides $150 for food. He wanted Dewey to come so students could meet a hero.
“It’s important to come meet them before they exit our world,” the 31-year-old said. “It’s also important for younger people who may not have great heroes in their life to come meet some actual heroes.”
On April 16, 1952, in Panmunjom, Korea, Dewey jumped on a grenade to protect his comrades, wounding himself in the process. He spent about four months recovering in a hospital.
Dewey’s wife, Bertha Dewey, said a telegram informed her Dewey was wounded in 1952. She waited for a letter from a friend to tell her Dewey would survive.
“It was kind of a whirlwind,” she said. “Everything was so fast.”
After returning to the U.S., then-president Dwight D. Eisenhower awarded the Medal of Honor, the military’s highest award for heroism, to Dewey.
“I couldn’t hardly believe it,” said Dewey.
Dewey said he rarely spoke about his medal when he was younger. It was hard to speak publicly about it because he felt uneducated, having only gone to school until ninth grade.
Now, he tells students in middle schools about the Korean War and the importance of education.
“I love talking to younger people,” he said.
Arline Broome, Dewey’s daughter, said there are two monuments dedicated to her father. One is in his hometown of South Haven, Michigan, and the other is at the Kanapaha Veterans Memorial Park in Gainesville, where Dewey lives during winter.
Broome said her father is one of 77 living Medal of Honor recipients.
“If you stop and think about the numbers, chances are very slim you’re going to meet a Medal of Honor recipient,” she said.
Marcos Silva, a UF history junior and Marine veteran, said he looks up to Dewey.
“That’s what I admire the most; he sacrificed himself for his buddies,” the 25-year-old said. “I would do the same thing.”
He said it was an honor to meet Dewey.
“We’re still Marines, so we’re brothers,” he said.
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Retired Marine and Medal of Honor recipient Cpl. Duane Dewey speaks with 38-year-old UF materials science sophomore and Marine veteran Nate Adler at the Collegiate Veterans Success Center in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Thursday morning. Dewey came to speak to student veterans about his experiences in the Korean War and receiving his Medal of Honor.
