He’s the last man standing of an impressive lot of local U.S. military veterans and accomplished musicians such as Bob Plamondon, Irving Pelletier, Al Beals, Al Tamulonis, Vic Poulin and Charlie Colletta Sr.
Romeo Couture, a sprightly 92-year-old weaned on the impeccable tutelage of legendary bandleader Elmer “Pop” Wilson, is the sole survivor of his 197th anti-aircraft field artillery unit and its band, an era he fondly and proudly recalled in remarkable detail this week while poring over photos, newspaper clippings and scads of memorabilia ahead of Sunday’s Veterans Day observance.
“Yep, I’m the only one left,” Couture said, holding up selected vintage photographs and naming almost everyone in them.
“I marched up and down Main Street for 60 years,” he added upon uncovering an 8- by 10- black-and-white photo showing the 197th Band marching down Main Street on a Veterans Day in the late 1940s.
“That’s Charlie’s father,” Couture said, pointing to a man in an all-white uniform, carrying a horn and turning back as if delivering a marching order. He referred to Colletta Sr., whose son Charlie Jr.![]()
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