Gene La Rocque

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Gene R. LaRocque
Born(1918-06-29)June 29, 1918
Kankakee, Illinois, U.S.
DiedOctober 31, 2016(2016-10-31) (aged 98)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Buried
Arlington National Cemetery U.S.
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service1940–1972
Rank Rear Admiral
Battles/warsWorld War II, Korea, Vietnam
Other workCenter for Defense Information

Eugene Robert LaRocque (June 29, 1918 – October 31, 2016) was a

US Navy. He founded the Center for Defense Information in 1971.[1]

Early life

La Rocque was born in Kankakee, Illinois, in 1918[2] and began his naval service in 1940. When the attack on Pearl Harbor was carried out, he was serving on the USS Macdonough. He participated in 13 major battles during World War II and worked for seven years in the Strategic Plans Directorate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In the Battle of Kwajalein, he was the first man to go ashore in the landings at Roi-Namur.

As a lieutenant commander, La Rocque was the

USS Solar, destroyed on April 30, 1946, in an explosion in loading torpex at Naval Ammunition Depot, Earle (now Naval Weapons Station, Earle), New Jersey
. Five enlisted men and one officer were killed, with 125 others wounded.

Activism

He retired in 1972 and was disillusioned over the

US Congress
, frequently appeared in the media, and consulted many national and international political leaders.

In the 1980s, La Rocque founded a weekly public affairs television program, America's Defense Monitor. In 1974, he stated that in his experience, any ship that is capable of carrying

non-nuclear policy
since World War II.

He was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board in 1982.

Personal life

La Rocque had three children (John La Rocque, James La Rocque, and Annette La Rocque Fitzsimmons) with Sally Fox, whom he had been married 32 years before her death, in 1978. In 1980, he married Washington businesswoman Lillian Kerekes Danchik, who died in 1994, which left his two stepsons (Howard and Roger Danchik) from her first marriage.[3][4]

Death

LaRocque died in

Washington, DC, at the age of 98.[5][6][4] He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "CDI Joins POGO".
  2. ISBN 0837911044
    .
  3. OCLC 1330888409
    .
  4. ^
    OCLC 1330888409
    .
  5. ^ Gates, Anita (November 4, 2016). "Gene La Rocque, Decorated Veteran Who Condemned Waste of War, Dies at 98". The New York Times. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  6. ^ "Gene la Rocque Obituary - Washington, DC".
  7. ^ Burial Detail: La Rocque, Gene R – ANC Explorer

External links

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