LAVOY JOHN H

COL John H LaVoy was a potential VHPA member who died after his tour in Vietnam on 04/20/2014 at the age of 94.5
Reno, NV
Date of Birth 10/31/1919
Served in the U.S. Marine Corps
Served in Vietnam with HMM-364 in 64-65
This information was provided by Sammie Williams

More detail on this person: Colonel John LaVoy, USMC, Ret'd passed away on Easter Sunday April 20,2014. He was born in Sparks, NV on October 31,1919 - son of Hazel and Lewis La Voy.

He attended the Robert H. Mitchell school in Sparks, Imlay Elementary, and was in the first graduating class of the St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral School in Reno. Graduating from Reno High School in 1939, he enrolled at the University of Nevada and was a member of Beta Kappa Fraternity. He attended Ground School classes and learned to fly the Taylor Craft at the Sky Ranch Flying School.

December 7, 1941 shocked the nation, and he immediately drove to San Francisco to enlist in Naval Aviation Training_after a short wait he was toold to report to Pre-Flight School at St. Mary's in Moraga, CA as a Seaman Second Class and later as a Cadet. He moved to E Base at Livermore, CAâǦThe E stood for Elimination and the Indoctrination Officer informed the Cadets that they'd either leave by the front gate as pilots, or the back gate in a casket. Corpus Christi, TX, and training at Cudahy Field, and fighter training at Kingsville followed. In May 1943, he graduated as a 2nd Lt., choosing USMC aviation. Following receiving his Gold Wings, he went to Great Lakes Naval Station for carrier training and to Jacksonville, FL for combat training.

Overseas orders soon followed, and he arrived in American Samoa to fly SBD's in VMSB-151. This tour flew patrol around the Ellis Islands and moved with the fighting to the Gilbert and Marshall Islands and raids on the Carolina Islands.

Returning to the U.S., he married Marian Hennen La Voy on September 26, 1944 at St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral with their dear friend, Rev. Luigi Roteglia officiating. They had been married 9 months and were living at Cherry Point, NC when overseas orders arrived to report to Malabang (Mindanao) Phillipines to do air support of both Army and Navy ground forces. Flying SB2C's, the squadron moved to Okinawa to prepare for the invasion of Japan. The war ended and VMSB/244 moved to Tsingtao, China where pilots flew the China Wall patrol and bombed railroads to check Mao Tse-Tung's moves on Chiang Kai-shek forces. Returning to the states, "Big John", as he was fondly known decided to make the Marine Corp his career. He was stationed at MCAS El Toro-MB Quantico and MB Camp Lejeune where he was sent to Ellingson Field at Pensacola FL for helicopter training. Shortly thereafter, he received orders to Korea and joined VMO-6 and spent a year on the front lines evacuating wounded Marines and Soldiers.

Returning to El Toro for four months, he was deployed to Gifu, Japan for over a year as there was a fear that Chinese troops would once again be deployed to Korea.

Kaneohe MCAS was next and he was CO of Headquarters Sqdn. The Honolulu newspaper honored him with a headline that referred to him as "Mr. Rescue" for all the downed pilots and civilians that he rescued off the coast of Oahu. Sikorsky Corp. also honored him for his bravery.

Edenton MCAS and Cherry Point found him back in fixed wing aircraft. He next "Bootstrapped" at The University of Nebraska at Omaha, receiving flight time at Offutt AFB. He graduated in 1962 with a BS in Military Science and moved on to Senior Officer School in Quantico, VA.

Vietnam beckoned, and as CO of HMM-364, he took a squadron of young helicopter pilots to Da Nang. Their heroics are legendary and not one man in the squadron was lost. The Legion of Merit with combat V was presented to him by USMC Commandant Major General Wallace Greene at the historic H and I base in Washington DC. He ended his career at the Pentagon where he worked for the Secretary of the Navy in The Office of Program Appraisal until 1969, and then became President of The Naval Examining Board.

Retiring in 1970, he returned to Reno and taught Industrial Arts at Hug High School for eleven years, and then he and Marian purchased a small ranch in Fallon NV where they lived for over 20 years. While in that community, he served as President of the Fallon Chapter of Navy League, Grand Knight for the Knights of Columbus, President of the FOE, a member of the Advisory Board of the Western Nevada Community College, Chairman of the Parish Council at Saint Patrick's Church, and an active member of the Fallon Rotary Club.

Moving back to Reno in 1999, he has been active at St. Albert's Catholic Church, The Knights of Columbus, Navy League, Marine Corps Aviation Assn., and the Marine Combat Helicopter Assn.

Col. La Voy is survived by his loving wife of 69 years, Marian; children Col. Donald La Voy (Candace), Michele LaVoy Reimer (Karl), John La Voy Jr. (Anne), Matthew LaVoy (Megan); grandchildren: Christina Hummel, Andrew La Voy, John K. La Voy, Jeffrey Reimer, Joseph Reimer, Robert La Voy, Alexander La Voy, Seth La Voy, Ryann La Voy, Drew LaVoy, Luke La Voy and nine great- grandchildren. He is also survived by his siblings; Dolores Walker, Rita Bugica (Joe), and numerous nieces and nephews. John was preceded into heaven by siblings; Lewis La Voy, Marguerite Kerr (George), Monsignor Elwood La Voy, Sister Gerald La Voy, and Sister Anna Louise La Voy.

Funeral Mass will be held at St. Albert the Great Catholic Church at Wyoming Ave at Kings Row on Friday April 25th at 10am. Rosary services and viewing will be held at Walton's Funeral Home, 875 W. 2nd Street in Reno at 7pm on Thursday evening.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in John's memory to The Libraries at the U of N Reno (c/o UNR Foundation-Mail Stop 0162, Reno, NV 89557-0162) or The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation P.O. Box 96628 Washington DC 20090-6628.

Published in Reno Gazette-Journal on Apr. 23, 2014

This information was last updated 05/18/2016

Please send additions or corrections to: HQ@vhpa.org VHPA Headquarters

Return to the Helicopter Pilot DAT name list

Return to VHPA web site

Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024


Copyright © 1998 - 2024 Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association