H is for ... HEROES!

Special thanks to Alona at Gould Genealogy for coming up with the Family History Through the Alphabet challenge!


H is for ... HEROES!


My family tree is chock full of men who served in the military or law enforcement (or both).  Here are the ones I have confirmed, in reverse chronological order.


First, is my dad, Jon Lanctot.  He served in the U.S. Army during Vietnam.  My grandmother told me a story about when I was just a couple of months old.  I was very sick with something called pyloric stenosis and needed surgery immediately.  My doctor was Dr. Todd, who had been the family's doctor for a very long time.  My dad had orders to be deployed overseas a few days later.  He called my dad's commanding officer and asked him to delay the orders.  The CO refused.  Dr. Todd mentioned that he thought my dad was looking like he might be getting pretty sick too, and might need to be hospitalized for several weeks, possibly even months.  The orders were delayed.

John J. Gallagher

Next is my maternal grandfather, John Gallagher.  He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps, I think in the mid- to late 1940s.  I'm not exactly sure what he did, but I'm positive that he did it very well.


He was also a police officer in Ridgefield, New Jersey for many years, and then worked as a food stamp fraud investigator for the Adjutant General's office at the Department of Agriculture.

Ed Lanctot

Next is my paternal grandfather, Ed Lanctot.  He served in the 147th Field Artillery Battalion of the South Dakota Army National Guard during WWII.  I posted about him previously here.

James Lanctot & Co.

Next, my paternal grand uncle, James Lanctot, served in the same unit as his brother Ed (above) during WWII.  Yep, that's him ... 2nd from the left. 


My paternal granduncle, Vernon G. "Bud" Slowey served with James and Ed Lanctot in the 147th of the South Dakota National Guard.


My maternal granduncle, Harold Crowe Jr., was a Sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He enlisted at Ft. Benjamin Harrison in Indiana on October 31, 1942.

Charles W. Crowe

Another maternal granduncle, Charles William Crowe, joined the U.S. Navy in 1944 at the age of 17. He retired in 1971 as a Commander. He was an aircraft carrier pilot on the USS Midway.

In 1917, my maternal great grandfather, Harold John Crowe, enlisted in the Indiana Army National Guard and served during WWI. 


My maternal great granduncle, Eugene L. "Tex" Stiker, enlisted in the Indiana Army National Guard in 1922.


To all of these men ... and all the ones for whom I haven't confirmed military or law enforcement service ... Hats off to you!  Heroes all!






Do we share any ancestors?
Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com