WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a statement submitted to the Congressional Record last week, U.S. Senator Angus King paid tribute to the life of Richard Dudman, a career journalist and dedicated community member in the Ellsworth region. Dudman is perhaps best known for his work Forty Days with the Enemy which chronicles the time he spent in the captivity of Viet Cong-aligned guerillas while on assignment for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in Cambodia during the Vietnam War. Dudman passed away this August in Blue Hill at the age of 99.

“After college, Richard served his country in the Merchant Marine and the Navy before becoming a reporter for the Denver Post. In 1954 he moved to Washington, D.C. to work for the St. Louis Port-Dispatch’s Washington bureau. In this position he would cover the assassination of John F Kennedy, the Watergate Scandal, as well as war and revolution all over the world.

“[…]Even after retiring, Richard did not stop reporting. In fact, on his last day at the Post-Dispatch in 1981 Richard raced out of his own retirement party to cover the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan. From his home in Ellsworth, ME Richard continued to contribute to the Post-Dispatch and wrote editorials for the Bangor Daily News until 2012.”

The complete statement is as follows:

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Mr. KING. Mr. President, today we remember Richard Dudman, who passed away this August in Blue Hill, ME at the age of 99. Throughout his long and illustrious career as a journalist, Richard was never one to turn away from a good story, even if chasing it meant putting himself in danger.

After college, Richard served his country in the Merchant Marine and the Navy before becoming a reporter for the Denver Post. In 1954 he moved to Washington, D.C. to work for the St. Louis Port-Dispatch’s Washington bureau. In this position he would cover the assassination of John F Kennedy, the Watergate Scandal, as well as war and revolution all over the world. 

Richard will perhaps be most remembered for the time he spent in Cambodia as a prisoner of the Viet Cong. He and his colleagues were mistaken for CIA operatives and were kept captive for forty long days. Towards the end of their captivity, once it had become clear that the journalists were not, in fact, working for the CIA, their captors began to refer to them not as prisoners of war, but as “travelers who lost their way.” It was this experience that inspired Richard to write the well-received Forty Days with the Enemy.

Even after retiring, Richard did not stop reporting. In fact, on his last day at the Post-Dispatch in 1981 Richard raced out of his own retirement party to cover the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan. From his home in Ellsworth, ME Richard continued to contribute to the Post-Dispatch and wrote editorials for the Bangor Daily News until 2012.

In retirement, Richard and Helen, his wife of 69 years, were active and constructive members of the Maine community. Ellsworth City Councilor Gary Fortier, a friend of the couple, described them as “true givers;” saying that “Ellsworth is a much better place because they have been part of it.” Richard and Helen received the Golden Eagle Award from the Boy Scouts of America in 2014 in recognition of their outstanding community service.

Richard’s dedication to covering the news, regardless of how far from home it occurred, won him the prestigious George Polk Award in Journalism in 1993. And in 2014, in recognition of that same dedication, Richard was inducted into the Maine Press Association Hall of Fame. I am pleased to be just one of many to remember and praise the many achievements of Richard’s career. The state of Maine was incredibly lucky to have him for the time that we did. He will be deeply missed.

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