There is a great history of family tradition at LSU. Family names seem to reoccur through the years, through generations, as sons and daughters follow fathers and mothers. The Labordes are a great example of this tradition of leadership, sacrifice and honor.
Captain, U.S. Army
Lucien Laborde on D-Day, June 6, 1944: “LCI 408 was the landing boat I was on. We hit one of those objects in the water about 50 yards from the beach. We had to get out in water about eye level and walking with our rifles over our heads ... mortar shells dropping near us … It was hell.”
Lucien Laborde majored in agronomy and animal husbandry at LSU in the late 1930s and planned to be a farmer in his hometown of Marksville, Louisiana. Under the tutelage of then-Major Troy H. Middleton, he excelled in the ROTC program and became Company Commander. This proved to be good training ground, as the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and he was called to active duty. He was assigned to 115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division at the rank of Captain.
From the Normandy beaches, the 29th Infantry spent 42 days fighting through the hedgerows and the battle for St. Lo. After it fell, the 29th got a break. Laborde had excelled in aerial reconnaissance during training and he got his chance to identify the hidden bunkers where the Germans were directing artillery near Cherbourg. The bunkers and 2,000 Germans were soon destroyed by American bombers and Laborde was reassigned to divisional headquarters as an intelligence officer.
Lucien Laborde served with the 115th for the duration of the war. After Saint-Lo, they participated in Operation COBRA (the breakout in Normandy), the Rhineland Campaign and the Central European Campaign. At the war’s end, Laborde was with the 115th in Bremen. The regiment remained in the Bremen area until just after Christmas in 1945, when the last of the men, including Laborde, were released to return home. At war’s end, he was the Operations Officer for the 29th Infantry Division, and he was awarded two Bronze Stars for his heroism.
After the war, he returned to the farm, marrying Peggy, his wife of 68 years and the first woman to earn an agronomy degree from LSU. Lucien Laborde was proud of his uniform and his LSU heritage – and he served both with great commitment and dedication until 2016 when he passed away at age 98.
Captain, U.S. Army
The people of Japan were not ready to surrender, but they had nothing left to fight with,
said John Laborde on the occupation of Japan in 1945.
From Marksville, Louisiana, to Tokyo, from LSU ROTC to General MacArthur’s staff, it was quite a journey for young John Laborde. He learned a lot about organization and regiment and leadership; these lessons would serve him well.
John Laborde grew up on the family farm, his mother was a teacher, and he had four siblings. He entered LSU at age 15 and received an undergraduate degree in pre-law. Then Pearl Harbor was bombed, and he joined the Army in 1943. After basic training, he was assigned to the 24th Infantry Division and sent to the Philippines. Laborde led a mortar platoon until he was chosen to serve as Adjutant in the 4th Battalion. From there he was selected to serve as Adjutant on General MacArthur’s staff to handle communications and top-secret information. He served in this position through the end of the war in the Pacific after spending a year in occupied Japan following the surrender.
Laborde returned to LSU, earning his law degree in 1949 and embarking on a successful business career. He was cofounder and retired chairman and president and CEO of Tidewater, Inc., the largest worldwide oil and gas marine offshore owner and operator of vessels; founder and chairman of Laborde Marine Lifts, Inc. and Laborde Products, Inc., privately held lift boat and diesel engine service companies; former chairman and director of Stewart Enterprises, Inc. and VT Halter Marine, Inc.; and past director of numerous companies. He is retired and an ardent supporter of everything LSU as well as an important leader in Louisiana business.
Given my lifetime career in the energy service industry, and recognizing how my law degree served me well in navigating the complexities of running a public company in the international arena, I am pleased to give back to the school that has given me so much,
Laborde said.
Commander, U.S. Navy
Like his brothers, Lucien and John, Alden Laborde grew up in Marksville, Louisiana and attended LSU until 1934 when he received an appointment to Annapolis. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1938 and served during World War II as a Lieutenant Commander.
After the war, Laborde began a career in the oil industry and became an innovator in offshore drilling. He used his naval training and experience to design and build the first submersible offshore drilling rig. He founded ODECO, Tidewater, Gulf Island Fabrication and the Almar Foundation. He was elected a member of the National Business Hall of Fame in 1985.
Alden Laborde passed away in 2014.