A soldier's courage, obscure since WWI, is given due tribute

Alexander Dulevitz (left) and Ernie Sullivan placed the wreath yesterday at the new headstone of World War I hero Fred Dulevitz. (George Rizer/Globe Staff)

EVERETT - Little is known about Fred Dulevitz's life.

It is unclear when his family moved to the United States from Russia, how long he lived in Massachusetts, or whether he graduated from high school.

More is known about his death, however.

Military records show that US Army Private Dulevitz was just 19 years old and had already earned the French Croix de Guerre award for bravery when he died during one of the deadliest battles of World War I, at Verdun in northeast France.

He volunteered for what was surely a suicidal mission: going through the German trenches to get a message to an American battalion commander.

He also earned a Purple Heart and, after his death on Oct. 28, 1918, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Those accolades were recognized on a new tombstone dedicated yesterday at the unmarked grave in Glenwood cemetery where he has lain for decades.

Dulevitz's bravery is no longer buried in obscurity.

The honors he received came to light because of the efforts of Ernie Sullivan, a retired Chelsea High School teacher who has made tracking down local veterans a personal crusade. He made sure that Dulevitz received the headstone that recognized his service.

"I think they justly deserve to be recognized," he said. "These gentlemen gave their lives."

Sullivan began tracing the lives of local World War I veterans seven years ago, when he asked his American history class to research the lives of 58 veterans honored on a plaque outside the school. Some students even discovered they were living in homes the soldiers once lived in.

"We were going to try and put faces to the names," said Sullivan. But the project took a twist when he learned that at least 41 known local veterans were not listed on the plaque.

The school year finished before much could be learned about the unrecognized veterans, but Sullivan continued to pursue their stories. He began visiting the graves of soldiers and found Dulevitz's bare plot.

"I just wanted to see for myself where these men were buried," said Sullivan, who retired in 2005 after 35 years of teaching.

Sullivan worked with the local veterans affairs office to get a gravestone made for Dulevitz.

And he made it his mission to find the soldier's family.

Six weeks ago, through computer searches, he tracked down a nephew in Texas named Alexander R. Dulevitz - but the nephew wasn't able to shed much light on the mystery surrounding his uncle's life.

Alexander Dulevitz learned about his uncle just three years ago, when his daughter began researching the family's history.

The Texan, who flew in from Houston for yesterday's headstone dedication, said his own father had been private about his early life and seldom spoke about his siblings or childhood home.

Fred Dulevitz "was a hero and he deserves the recognition," said Alexander Dulevitz, a retired Army lieutenant colonel whose father and son are also veterans. "I owed it to Fred to be here."

And, he said, "It gives . . . my children a much better sense of their heritage."

Sullivan did unearth other facts about Fred Dulevitz.

The soldier's family lived in Newburyport before moving to Connecticut, and eventually returned to the Bay State, settling in Chelsea. Dulevitz enlisted in the Connecticut National Guard when he was about 17. A week later, his unit was nationalized and made part of the Yankee Division of the US Army, said Sullivan.

Under a light drizzle yesterday, Sullivan and Alexander Dulevitz set a red-white-and-blue wreath near the new gray headstone that recognizes Fred Dulevitz for his military honors.

Dozens attended the ceremony, including city officials and members of several veterans organizations.

A representative from the French consulate also came to pay respects. Verdun was one of the "bloodiest iconic" battlefields of World War I, and the Croix de Guerre is one of the highest military decorations awarded by the French.

"I came here because it's important for the French government to recognize every individual who did such acts of heroism for the liberty of France," said Alexis Berthier, press attaché for the Consulate General of France in Boston. "He put his life on the line for Europe."

Jonnelle Marte can be reached at jmarte@globe.com.
Correction: Because of a reporting error, a story in Monday's City & Region section about World War I veteran Fred Dulevitz incorrectly stated when Dulevitz was killed. He died near Verdun, France, but after the historic Battle of Verdun.