Vet of the Month: August 2008
by
Reg. #23685 Joseph (Buffalo Joe) Healy
Coordinator
In August 2008, we honour a deceased member of the Force who served and died for Canada. He joined the RCMP 77 years ago today.
The following Vet of the Month story is very special. First, the circumstances surrounding our Vet's death allow us to recall once again the bravery of members of the Force in the roles they played in World War II. This story is also poignant because our August Vet joined the Force on August 19, 1931. He died tragically 10 years later.
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Data on the RCMP Graves Location and Maintenance Program allowed Kingston Vet Reg.# 17023 Jack Hickman to begin his search of the grave of our Vet of the Month. His search was successful and his research in Ireland adds significantly to previous work done by Vet Reg.# 16721 Jack White of Kamloops, BC. The story of our August Vet of the Month would be incomplete without the help of both of these dedicated Vets.
Collaboration among Vets through the RCMP National Graves databank is allowing more of our Vets' stories to be told and memories to be honoured.
This month our Vet of the Month is Sgt. Louis Romeo Dubuc, Reg. #10982, RCMP Honour Roll #69. His story is being released on the 77th anniversary of Sgt. Dubuc's joining the Force.
Our August 2008 story begins with the following letter which I received from Kingston Vet Jack Hickman.
Dear Joe: Re: Sgt. L. R. Dubuc
You will recall that we exchanged e-mails a couple of months ago, specifically regarding links to our Kingston Vets website.
About that time I was browsing through your database and I spotted the entry for the captionally noted Sgt. Dubuc.
What particularly caught my eye was the fact that he was buried in the Catholic Cemetery in Newry, Northern Ireland. I was in the planning stages of a trip to Ireland at that time, and my cousin, Andy Tohill, whom I intended to visit, lives about ten miles from Newry.
With Andy's help, we located the cemetery and the grave site and I took a couple of pictures of the site and the markers.
The grave is very well kept, typical of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission work, and according to the cemetery staff, each November a poppy is placed on the grave. There is no reference on his marker as to his service in the Force.
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Unfortunately due to lack of contrast, the writing on the stone is practically illegible in the photos, but the plot contains two graves, the other being for one "Kenny", evidently a radio man on the aircraft piloted by Dubuc. Both stones contain the insignia of the RCAF, and Dubuc's stone describes him as "Lieutenant de Section" (French for Flight Lieutenant).
The following website: Foreign Aircraft Landings in Ireland contains a list of all aircraft crashes during the Second World War in the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland) which was neutral at that time.
Dubuc's aircraft crashed in County Louth and I would expect his remains were transferred for burial in Newry, in Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. Jack Hickman Kingston Vets
Vet Jack White of Kamloops, BC adds other background details to this story.
Sgt. Dubuc served in the RCMP from August 19, 1931 until his death at Dundalk, Ireland on September 27, 1941. He served in "D", "K", "C" and "G" Divisions and was a pilot in the Air Section.
In its 2nd year of existence (1938) the RCMP "Aviation Section" comprised 10 members; Reg. # O.297 Michelson, #11780 Fraser, #11296 Cox, #10982 Dubuc, #11830 Grant, #12099 Gray, #10927 McNeil, #11169 Swaney, #12835 McClellan & Radio Operator W. Elliott.
On November 20, 1939, with the recent outbreak of World War II, Dubuc was temporarily transferred to the Ferry Command of the RCAF to move aircraft across the Atlantic to Great Britain. On September 27, 1941 he left Canada flying a new Hudson bomber with two other crew members.
They fought storms all the way across the Atlantic and then, low on fuel over Ireland, faced dense fog. Attempting a landing at Dundalk, the aircraft struck some obstruction and crashed killing the three crew members. Sgt. Dubuc was buried at Newry, North Ireland.
Dubuc Crescent, 'Depot' Division RCMP, Regina, Saskatchewan was named in honour of Reg. #10982 Sergeant Louis Romeo Dubuc, RCMP who is on the RCMP's Honour Roll #69.
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This article is published with written permission from RCMP Vets Jack Hickman and Jack White. A good picture of Sgt. Dubuc appears in Canadian author Robert Knuckle's book: In the Line of Duty, Volume II: From Fort Macleod to Mayerthorpe (Honour Roll of the RCMP). General Store Publishing. Renfrew, Ontario p. 65.