Eugene Robert LaRocque (1918 - 2016)

Born 29 Jun 1918 in Kankakee, Kankakee, Illinois, United States

Ancestors

Died 31 Oct 2016 at age 98 in Washington D.C., United States

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Biography

Gene LaRocque is Notable.

Eugene (Gene) Robert LaRocque was born on 29 June 1918, the son of Edward Larocque.

Gene joined the United States Navy in 1940, after which he served in World War II and was a witness to the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was eventually promoted to the rank of Real Admiral, upper half.

In the 1960s, he was involved in high level strategy at the Pentagon for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and traveled to Vietnam to assess the situation there. After released a report highly critical of the mission there, he became disillusioned over the war and did not receive any further promotions.

In 1972 after retiring from the United States Navy, he along with retired fellow Rear Admiral Eugene Carroll founded the nonprofit organization Center for Defense Information, which still exists today.

He married (1) Sally Fox, and they had three children: John LaRocque, James LaRocque, and Annette LaRocque Fitzsimmons. Sally died in 1978.

He married (2) Lillian Kerekes Danchik in 1980 and he had two stepsons from her, Howard Danchik and Roger Danchik. Lillian died in 1994.^[1]

He died of kidney failure on 31 October 2016 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Gene R. La Rocque, Navy admiral who became Pentagon critic, dies at 98, 11 November 2016, The Washington Post
2. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #177392160

• *"Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL7R-D7P3 : 25 February 2022), Gene, ; Burial, Arlington, Arlington, Virginia, United States of America, Arlington National Cemetery; citing record ID 177392160, Find a Grave