State to Honor Bunker Hill Grad Who Died in Combat

A 2007 graduate who died in combat last year will be honored by the state of Massachusetts.

James Ayube, 25, served in Iraq and Afghanistan served in Iraq and Afghanistan and received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his service. He was killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan on Dec. 8, 2010. He was a U.S. Army medic. 

Ayube was a Salem resident. He earned his associate's degree in sociology from Bunker Hill.

The governor's office recently announced that a street will be named in Ayube's honor in his hometown. Sergeant James Ayube Memorial Drive will commemorate Sergeant Ayube’s service to the nation.  

Lloyd Sheldon Johnson, a professor in the college's Behavioral Science Department at the College, remembered Ayube as “a wonderful and sensitive student who had a focus and a force that were infectious.” 

Ayube was one of many recent veterans who attended Bunker Hill Community College. There are currently more than 400 veterans of the U.S. armed forces enrolled at the school.

Bunker Hill offers a seminar geared to the concerns of veterans, and has recently opened a to help student veterans with GI Bill benefits, academics and health services.