RI family's decades-long search for lost POW comes to an end. What it means to them

Maurice Robidoux has a clear memory of the last time he saw his older brother Lawrence. “He visited us before he went overseas in 1950. We put him on a bus, and I watched that bus until it went out of sight,” he said. Maurice was only 4 years old.

Shortly thereafter, then-Corporal Robidoux joined Company B, 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. The unit had been in Japan since 1946, part of our Army of Occupation.

When the North Koreans invaded South Korea in June 1950, the troops in Japan were the first U.S. soldiers to enter the fray, landing in mid-July. The United Nations force drove the invaders back across their border and north to the Yalu River, the border with China.

In November 1950, the Chinese entered the war, launching major attacks everywhere. On Nov. 27, they hit B Company, which was defending Hill 234 about 50 miles south of the Chinese border. The 203-man unit was eventually overwhelmed. Only 26 men returned safely. Robidoux and 77 others were officially listed as Missing in Action (MIA).

It was later confirmed that Robidoux had been captured and died in a North Korean prison camp. For more than 60 years, his family sought to locate his remains. In January, the Army announced that Lawrence Robidoux had been found at last.

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On April 23, R.I. Army National Guard Capt. Michael Csisar helped bring closure to the family. In front of a roomful of family and friends, Csisar presented Sergeant Robidoux’s awards and medals to his 97-year-old sister, Lucille Couture, of North Smithfield.

Lucille’s son, Larry Couture, served 22 years in the Army, 11 on active duty, including service in Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Larry was named for his uncle, and over the years he spearheaded the family effort to track down Lawrence’s remains.

“My family was haunted by what became of him,” said niece Holly Tolley, Maurice’s daughter. “Was he dead? Had he been tortured? My Aunt Lucille was constantly checking his status with the Army.”

In 1953, 10 repatriated POWs confirmed that Lawrence had been held at Prison Camp 5, North Korea, and died of malnutrition and exposure sometime during the spring of 1951.

“Some of them eventually spoke with Aunt Lucille,” said Holly. “They said my uncle, emaciated and sick, literally dropped dead on a forced march. His fellow servicemen buried him where he fell.”

Lawrence’s father died in 1995, still hoping for closure.

“He kept a photo of Lawrence on a credenza for decades,” said Holly, although he would never talk about him. “The loss of his eldest son was simply too much.”

In July 2018, the Army exhumed the remains of 652 Korean War service members from a cemetery in Hawaii. Advances in DNA technology gave hope that some of these soldiers could finally be identified.

Much to their surprise, the family received word in January that his uncle was among those identified.

Larry’s brother, Dennis Couture of Burrillville, said, “His loss has been a palpable presence in my family for over 70 years. We're deeply grateful that he was identified and we can properly lay him to rest.”

Back to the beginning

Lawrence was born in Radville, Saskatchewan, Canada, on Oct. 31, 1928, the son of Joseph Robidoux and Eva Sabourin. He grew up in a large French-Canadian family. His parents, Quebec natives, moved to Saskatchewan sometime after their 1925 marriage.

In 1923, Joseph’s older brother Elie went south from Quebec instead, joining Rhode Island’s French-Canadian community in Woonsocket.

Lawrence’s mother, Eva Sabourin, died in childbirth in the summer of 1938 when he was only 10. His baby brother Maurice succumbed two days later. “I was only 5 years old when I went to the funeral,” recalled Mel Van de Sype, a 90-year-old cousin who still lives in Radville. “The mother and baby were casketed together, and it was just the saddest occasion.”

Joseph Robidoux remarried in April 1939 to Alice Labbee. This union brought in five new children. “Lawrence grew up in a blended family of three full sisters, a stepbrother, three half-brothers and one half-sister,” said Holly.

Van de Sype recalls Lawrence’s artistic skill. Even as a young boy, he was drawing caricatures. Brother Dennis, now 83, said, “I would ask him to draw pictures. It didn’t matter whether it was a horse or an Army tank, he drew it. I wish I had kept some of them.”

So does Maurice, who sat on Lawrence’s knee while he drew a sketch before boarding that bus in 1950.

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Moving to Rhode Island

Due to the vagaries of agricultural life on the Canadian prairie after World War II, Joseph and his family emigrated to America in 1948. They joined Uncle Elie, who by then was operating the locally notorious Over the Rainbow restaurant and bar in Cumberland.

Sister Lucille remembers that he wanted to become a doctor. Perhaps viewing the G.I. Bill as a path to that goal, he joined the Army in January 1949 — well before Lucille came to Rhode Island in December 1950.

“Back in Canada, we played war games as kids,” Lucille told me. “He was the soldier and I was the nurse.”

“Lawrence was the greatest kid in the world,” she reminisced. “I always looked at him as my big brother, even though he was two years younger than me.”

Due to a backlog at Arlington, no date has been set for Robidoux’s funeral. However, the family is pleased he will be laid to rest in our national cemetery.

Cousin Mel successfully added Lawrence’s name to the Cenotaph in Regina. Canada also has a program for naming lakes near the Arctic Circle for fallen veterans; Mel has submitted an application for Lawrence.

Calendar

Thursday, May 11, 7 p.m.: Disabled American Veterans, Chapter 21 Meeting. Knights of Columbus Dillon Council, 1675 Douglas Ave., North Providence. Please contact Cmdr. Jim Pascetta, (401) 447-7286 with any questions.

Thursday, May 11, 6 a.m.-4 p.m.: Charter Fishing out of Hampton, New Hampshire. This trip is limited to 45 veterans/active duty/Guard and Reserve. All you need is a cooler for your catch/beverages, weather-appropriate clothing and Dramamine if you need it.

To sign up, you need to join The Fallen Outdoors East Coast Community Page on Facebook. Once accepted into the group, you then need to comment on the post for this trip with “Tight Lines.” This enters you into the drawing for the trip. Questions? Call Justyn Charon at the Rhode Island Vets Center, (401) 739-0167 or Justyn.Charon@va.gov

To report the outcome of a previous activity, or to add a future event to our calendar, please email the details (including a contact name and phone number/email address) to veteranscolumn@providencejournal.com.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: The family of Lawrence Robidoux, Korean War POW, finally has closure