Tuesday, June 5, 2018
The first time I met Duane was at the 140th Reenactment of the Battle of Antietam. At that time, my reg't, the 114th PVI, was in "Vincent's Brigade", along with the 20th Maine, Co.B., et.al. I was living in PA at the time, but shortly after, I moved to Maine, only to see him again at the premier of the ACW movie, "Gods and Generals", in Bangor. Living in Prospect at the time, I then used to "fall in" with the 20th Maine at various reenactments, mostly at Ft. Knox, Maine, where I would see him often. Further, I was also became a member of the Richardson's Round Table Civil War group, of which Duane was also a member. I got to know him fairly well, and he always brought a smile to our faces or chuckle to all of us. No matter who he was with, or where he was, you couldn't escape his great candid wry sense of humor. He was simply a joy to be around. The fondest memory I have of Duane, was when we were at Ft. Knox the one year way back when, when the 20th ME used to be at the Fort for "Fright Night" , and we'd shoot off our guns to scare all the kids coming into the Ft. It was so cold the one Oct. night, and Duane must've seen me shivering, and took out a small pocket flask of brandy, and offered it to me, without a second thought. We never drank from the same canteen, but I can say, we drank from the same flask! We miss you, Duane, and celebrate you...thanks for being the great person you always were. ~Rob Kufrovich, 114th PVI, Collis' Zouaves, Castine, Maine.
