Gene La Rocque

Eugene Robert La Rocque (June 29, 1918 – October 31, 2016) was a rear admiral of the United States Navy who founded the Center for Defense Information in 1971.[1]

Gene R. La Rocque
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

Biography

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 in 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.

He retired in 1972, disillusioned over the Vietnam War. La Rocque and his colleagues testified before 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 nuclear weapons carries nuclear weapons and does not off-load them when they are in foreign ports. The statement directly conflicted with the Department of Defense's "neither confirm nor deny" (NC/ND) policy regarding such weapons and sparked controversy in Japan, which has had a non-nuclear policy since World War II.

As a Lieutenant Commander, La Rocque was commanding officer of USS Solar, destroyed on April 30, 1946, in an explosion while loading torpex at Naval Ammunition Depot, Earle (now Naval Weapons Station, Earle) in New Jersey. Five enlisted men and one officer were killed with 125 others wounded.

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

La Rocque had three children – John La Rocque, James La Rocque, and Annette La Rocque Fitzsimmons – with Sally Fox, whom he was married to for 32 years before her death in 1978. In 1980 he married Washington business woman Lillian Kerekes Danchik whom he was married to for 14 years until her death in 1994, leaving behind his two step-sons Howard and Roger Danchik from her first marriage.[3][4]

La Rocque died in Washington, D.C. in October 2016 at the age of 98.[5][6][4] He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[7]

See also

References
  1. "CDI Joins POGO".
  2. Who's who in the world, 1978–1979. Marquis Who's Who. 1978. p. 553. ISBN 0837911044.
  3. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1994/04/28/barbara-l-schell-dies-at-50/1b1fbc8d-e652-4154-a580-cd9aea8a321f/
  4. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/gene-r-la-rocque-navy-admiral-who-became-pentagon-critic-dies-at-98/2016/11/05/b6ace2d0-a2c7-11e6-8d63-3e0a660f1f04_story.html
  5. Gates, Anita (November 4, 2016). "Gene La Rocque, Decorated Veteran Who Condemned Waste of War, Dies at 98". Retrieved February 14, 2019 – via NYTimes.com.
  6. http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Gene-La+Rocque&lc=2216&pid=182302297&mid=7151163
  7. Burial Detail: La Rocque, Gene R – ANC Explorer
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