Faces Bio

Fred J. Le Blanc was born in Bayonne, NJ, on July 31, 1939, to Fred F. and Sophie Ann Le Blanc. He had two sisters, Betty Ann and Sybil, and one brother, Raymond. He was a graduate of Horace Mann School and the technical division of Bayonne High School. He enjoyed working on cars and riding his motorcycle.

Le Blanc was active in the Civil Air Patrol and completed a summer training course at Mitchell Air Force base, NY, in 1955.

He served for three years as a Lance Corporal in the US Marine Corps, having been stationed in Okinawa for two years, and Camp Lejeune for a year. After his discharge, he worked for Central Railroad of New Jersey as a conductor for six years and was a member of the Brotherhood of Trainmen AFL-CIO.

Le Blanc re-enlisted in the service with the US Army and served for six months in Germany. He attended Army school in North Carolina where he graduated from the Military Assistance Training Advisor Senior Non-Commissioned Officer course in April 1969, at Fort Bragg.

He completed 12 weeks of language training in Vietnamese (Saigon dialect) at Briggs Field, Fort Bliss, TX, and 240 hours of training at the Academy of Language Studies at El Paso, TX. He attained the rank of Specialist 4 (SP4).

Le Blanc was stationed in Vietnam eight months before his fatal accident at the age of 30.

He was the recipient of the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster and the Bronze Star.

His brother, Raymond, was also a veteran of the Vietnam conflict.

Sources: Betty Boothby (sister) and NJVVMF.