History in a Pint

Veterans Memorial Hall, a program of the St. Louis County Historical Society, announces its next event in the local history discussion series, “History in a Pint.” The presentation by Jay Hagen, Veterans Memorial Hall Program Assistant, is entitled “Finding the Fallen: History Flight’s Recovery of Marine Sergeant James Joseph Hubert,” will take place at Carmody Irish Pub and Brewing (308 East Superior Street, Duluth, Minnesota), and will begin at 5:30 pm on Tuesday, April 17th. The event is free and open to the public.

On November 21, 1943, United States Marine Corps Sergeant James Joseph Hubert was killed in the Battle of Tarawa. He, like over 1,100 of his fallen comrades, were hastily buried by fellow Marines to avoid a health crisis on the tiny island. The USMC moved on to the next island while the dead awaited repatriation once the war was over. As his family back home in Duluth anxiously awaited James’ holiday season return, they were instead visited by representatives from the USMC that delivered his parents the horrible news of his death. After the war was over, more than 500 of the Marines were never located and ultimately designated as ‘non-recoverable’. More than 70 years had passed before a non-profit group History Flight took up the challenge. Years of research and determination led to the discovery of Cemetery 27- aka ‘The Lost Cemetery’. The story of James’ life, his sacrifice, his recovery and eventual return to Duluth nearly 75 years later will be the focus of this evening’s event.

We advise guests to park in the parking ramp behind and connected to the Sheraton, which is across the street from Carmody’s.

Veterans Memorial Hall was established in 1910 and is a joint program of the St. Louis County Historical Society and the military service veterans of northeastern Minnesota with a mission to gather, preserve, interpret, and promote the rich and diverse human experiences of veterans, their families and communities, through museum, archival and educational programs. Its website, www.vets-hall.org, features more than 6,000 veteran stories.

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