WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Memorial Day, U.S. Senator Angus King, a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs (SVAC) and Armed Services Committees (SASC), released his latest episode of “Answering the Call: Maine’s Veteran Voices.” In the 17th interview of the series, produced in partnership with the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project, Senator King spoke with U.S. Navy veteran Richard L’Heureux of Topsham, Maine. The interview also comes 50 years after the end of the U.S.’ involvement in the Vietnam War.

L’Heureux served in the Navy during the Vietnam War; he was deployed to Chu Lai, Vietnam for his first tour and the second he served onboard a naval ship. During the interview, King asked about L’Heureux’s experience serving abroad during the war, as well as his time serving as a naval corrections officer in Virginia and the Philippines.

“Richard L’Heureux was one of the millions of Americans who bravely served during the Vietnam War, twice leaving behind his family and friends to protect America’s interests abroad,” said Senator King. “However, his extraordinary service and life extend past the trenches of Vietnam. During his time in the U.S. Navy, he counseled imprisoned servicemembers and helped others navigate their Naval careers. He represents the very best of Maine and our nation, and it was a privilege to speak with him and help preserve his story for generations to come.”

Richard L’Heureux was born in Sanford, Maine, and attended school at St. Francis High School in Biddeford. He spoke French exclusively until he was 10 years old. Born into a family with deep roots of military service, Richard’s father served in World War I, his mother’s brother lost his life in World War I, his eldest brother William was a Navy chief in World War II, and his other brother Gilbert served in Korea. In total, Richard had 19 cousins serve in World War II. When he turned 18, he enlisted in the Navy and attended bootcamp in Bainbridge, Maryland; he jokes that bootcamp was nothing compared to his time at St. Francis High School. Richard’s first duty station was in San Diego, California. Very early on in this service with the Navy, he began working in human resources, taking care of personnel records, and helping sailors with training and education opportunities.

After leaving San Diego, Richard spent a year and a half in Guam on the Airborne Early Warning Squadron, a four-engine plane that tracked typhoons so American fleets would be aware of the weather. From Guam, his squadron would fly missions to Japan and China. After Guam, Richard moved on to Quonset Point, Rhode Island, where he was stationed on the USS Lake Champlain aircraft carrier. In 1961, Richard was aboard ship when they rescued Alan Shepard, one of the first American astronauts, and had the chance to meet him and shake his hand.

Richard moved on to attend Classification School, where he met with young recruits and worked to place them in the best roles within the Navy based on their skillsets and interests. This path led Richard to Baltimore, Maryland, where he met his now wife, Juliana. Once the Vietnam War had broken out, Richard left behind his wife and two-week-old newborn son to serve in a Construction (“Seabee”) Battalion in Chu Lai, Vietnam. Richard helped build an airfield for the U.S. Marines and for the South Korean military. For six months, Richard braved the unbearable heat of the dry season and the rainy season. He returned to the U.S. only to be sent back to Vietnam within less than two months. This time he was able to serve aboard a Naval ship, which he recalls being much more “luxurious” than the foxholes on the beach in Vietnam.

After returning to the U.S. for a second time, Richard was asked to serve as a naval correction officer in a military brig — which are typically run by the Marines and not the Navy. He received a crash course in psychology from American University in Washington, D.C., and the next stage in his career was underway. After a few years serving as a correctional officer in Norfolk, Virgina, Richard was sent to a Naval prison in the Philippines where he learned some important lessons about human nature and worked to counsel imprisoned servicemembers. His wife and two sons, Roger and Paul, were able to join him on this assignment overseas.

Richard and his family moved back to Kittery, Maine, from the Philippines, and commuted daily to work in Massachusetts at an engineering firm. After a short stint there, Richard moved on to Southern Maine Medical where he worked in human resources. After, he moved to Unum, a company that handles employee benefits, where he stayed for nearly 25 years. He looks back fondly on his military experience and would encourage young people today to join the service if they feel called to do so. Notably, Richard is very well-traveled and has visited all 50 states and 84 countries.

The Veterans History Project is an effort by the Library of Congress to collect, preserve and distribute the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war. The interviews and primary documents from the project are then used by researchers, historians, students, and filmmakers across the country. Senator King joins many other members of Congress who’ve participated in the project, and was honored by the then-Librarian of Congress on Veterans Day 2022 when she participated in a one-on-one interview with him to talk through his Maine conversations.

Representing one of the states with the highest rates of military families and veterans per capita, Senator King is a staunch advocate for America’s servicemembers and veterans. A member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (SVAC), he works to ensure American veterans receive their earned benefits and that the VA is properly implementing various programs such as the PACT Act, the State Veterans Homes Domiciliary Care Flexibility Act, and the John Scott Hannon Act. Recently, Senator King introduced bipartisan legislation to help reduce suicides among veterans by providing free secure firearm storage to veterans. In addition, he helped pass the Veterans COLA Act, which increased benefits for 30,000 Maine veterans and their families. Senator King has also introduced bipartisan legislation to improve care coordination for veterans who rely on both VA health care and Medicare. Earlier this year, he cosponsored the bipartisan Major Richard Star Act that would provide more combat-injured veterans with their full earned benefits. He also joined Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, in introducing bipartisan legislation to permanently authorize a program that would expand access to veteran disability claims exams. Most recently, Senator King teamed up with Senator Jim Banks (R-IN) to introduce a bipartisan bill that would make the veterans’ benefit claims process more streamlined and fair.

You can watch previous episodes of “Answering the Call: Maine’s Veteran Voices” here.

###