ABBEVILLE, La. (KLFY) — Abbeville native and retired Brigadier General Robert LeBlanc was laid to rest today, on what would have been his 102nd birthday.
LeBlanc, a native of Abbeville, is a recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award in the United States alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for his service in World War II.
In addition to the Congressional Gold Medal, LeBlanc was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three stars, World War II Victory Medal, Louisiana Distinguished Service Medal, Louisiana Cross of Merit and the Order of Saint Maurice.
He graduated from Abbeville High School in 1938 and from LSU, where he majored in geology and mathematics, in 1942. He was commissioned in the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant on May 18, 1942.
LeBlanc served as a liaison officer between Gen. Patton’s Third Army and the French Underground. In 1945, he was transferred to the China-Burma Theater, where he served as a special operations officer with an OSS detachment in Kunming, China.
After WWII, LeBlanc joined the Louisiana Air National Guard and went on to become the commanding general of the Louisiana Army National Guard Command.
LeBlanc was laid to rest at St. Mary Magdalen Mausoleum in Abbeville.
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