LYNN — Alfred LeBlanc and four of his brothers all served in World War II at the same time.
LeBlanc, 95, has lived in Lynn his entire life. He was born into a family of nine children — six boys and three girls.
At just 17, he enlisted in the Navy and served for three years. During his time in the military, he was on the U.S.S Missouri.
“Five of us were in World War II, and we all came back,” LeBlanc said of himself and his brothers.
While on the ship, the U.S.S Missouri sailed to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to pick up President Truman after he had a visit there and sailed back to Norfolk, Va., he said. This was the first time the ship crossed the equator, according to trumanlibrary.gov.
In the years after being in the military, LeBlanc was highly involved in the Lynn Franco-American War Post. He was president of the building committee for the post, which was built in 1956.
The post used to run a weekend-long event called “Jail Day” to raise funds for kids with disabilities. He ended up earning the most donations two years in a row, he said.
“He would stand out in the street, all day Friday, all day Saturday — rain didn’t matter — just to collect for the children,” said his son, James LeBlanc.
James said his father marched in every single Memorial Day parade for years.
“Whether it was raining or whether he was the only one from the club that showed up, he was there,” James said.
