DOB/DOD: March 20, 1983 (Fort Bragg, NC) – May 8, 2005; 22 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Engaged to be married to Olivia Lawrence (1986-).
LOCAL ADDRESS: Sedgwick Road; West Hartford
ENLISTMENT: May 19, 2003
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 0311; Rifleman
UNIT: H Company, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines (Regimental Combat Team 2), 2nd Marine Division; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
FAMILY: Born to Raymond A. [U.S. Army veteran; ’79-‘83] (1961-) and Leesa M. Philippon (1961-). One sister, Emilee R. (1987-). One brother, Bryan T. (1989-).
DECORATIONS: Awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Presidential Unit Citation, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with device, Global War on Terrorism Medal (Expeditionary), Global War on Terrorism (Service), Navy/Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon, and the Expert Rifleman Badge.
CIRCUMSTANCES: Lance Corporal Philippon was killed by enemy small-arms fire while conducting combat operations in the vicinity of Qa’im, Iraq.
OTHER: At one point in his career, Lance Corporal Philippon was assigned to the 8th & I Marine Barracks Color Guard in Washington, D.C. The “8th & I” is the oldest active post in the Marine Corps. It was founded by President Thomas Jefferson and Lieutenant Colonel William Ward Burrows, the second commandant of the Marine Corps, in 1801. Lance Corporal Philippon served many funerals in Arlington National Cemetery. He also carried the Marine Corps flag at former President Ronald Reagan’s funeral procession in Washington.
Conard High School, Class of 2001. Honorable mention All-State hockey goalie.
Memorialized with a monument in front of Conard High School, West Hartford. One of three people in this book who graduated from Conard High School. The others are McMahon & Paliwoda.
Photo, above, from TogetherWeServed.com.
From The Hartford Courant on May 11, 2005
By Jesse Leavenworth | Courant Staff Writer
MARINE KILLED IN IRAQ OFFENSIVE
Lance Corporal Lawrence R. Philippon, a 22-year-old West Hartford man who carried the Marine Corps flag at President Reagan’s funeral, died fighting insurgents in western Iraq as part of a major offensive along the Syrian border, military officials said Tuesday. Philippon, a rifleman with the 2nd Marine Division, was killed by small arms fire Sunday during combat in the Al Anbar province, division spokesman Lieutenant Barry Edwards said Tuesday. The 2nd Division launched an assault late Saturday aimed at flushing out insurgents who have made the region near the Syrian border a safe haven for followers of militant leader Abu Musab al-Zaryawh. As many as 100 militants have been killed since Operation Matador, one of the largest American offensives in Iraq in six months, began in Qa’im, 200 miles west of Baghdad. At least three U.S. Marines have been killed in the ongoing offensive, which involves more than 1,000 Marines, sailors, and soldiers backed by helicopter gunships and fighter jets. News reports say one of the Marines was killed by an insurgent who was hiding in a basement and fired through a floor grate as the Marine entered a house. Edwards said he did not know if that Marine was Philippon. Raymond Philippon, Lawrence’s father, said representatives of the Marine Corps who came to his West Hartford home Tuesday could not provide him any details about his son’s death. The Marines gave his wife, Leesa, a Gold Star to honor her loss. His son, a Conard High School graduate, joined the Marine Corps two years ago and was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment in January, Edwards said. Philippon had asked for duty in Iraq after being chosen while in basic training for the Marine Corps Color Guard in Washington, D.C. Family members say Philippon carried the Marine Corps flag at the state funeral for President Reagan last June. Philippon’s official duties at the time of his death, Edwards said, were “protecting the Syrian border and conducting security operations to prevent insurgents from crossing the border and setting up strongholds in Iraqi cities.”
From The Hartford Courant on May 31, 2005
By Regine LaBossiere | Courant Staff Writer
FALLEN HERO’S FATHER THANKS TOWN
WEST HARTFORD — The father of a Conard High alumnus killed May 8 in Iraq said Monday that the letters, cards, and flowers that family members had received helped them deal with their loss. Raymond Philippon, speaking at a service outside the town hall after the Memorial Day parade, told listeners that the kindness of both friends and strangers made it possible for his family to emotionally survive the combat death of Lance Corporal Lawrence R. Philippon, 22. The Marine rifleman, a 2001 Conard graduate, died fighting in western Iraq. He was the third person from West Hartford to be killed in Afghanistan or Iraq. Raymond Philippon — his wife, Leesa, sitting behind him with town officials — said that the couple “would never make it through” their sadness without the support of their town. He thanked officials for hanging national, state, and U.S. Marine Corps flags along a several-blocks-long stretch of Sedgwick Road, where the family lives. Philippon’s brief speech received a standing ovation from the town, state, and army officials seated behind him. He then helped the parade marshal, Army Major Donald Slater, place a wreath on the veterans’ memorial. Babies cried when the three-gun salute pierced the silence. Afterward, Philippon said it was apt to commemorate Memorial Day just weeks after his son’s death. “People told us they were here for Larry,” Philippon said. “It’s almost like it was meant to be. It’s all happened at the same time, and it’s been a whirlwind.” West Hartford shares with Waterbury the highest number of fatalities in Iraq or Afghanistan of any state municipality. From West Hartford, U.S. Army Lieutenant Michael J. McMahon, 41, died in Afghanistan in December, and Army Captain Eric Thomas Paliwoda died in Iraq in January 2004. With a rat-a-tat-tat here of drums and the brassy notes of horns there, local bands, youth leagues, and veterans marched down Farmington Avenue and South Main Street. The streets were lined with hundreds of onlookers well before the parade began shortly after 10 a.m. and looked even more crowded an hour later. Some onlookers gather at the parade every year, looking for friends they hadn’t seen in a while. Kathy Keany, the mother of eight who raised her children in West Hartford, was joined by her husband and several of her grown children and grandchildren. “We always come back for the parade,” said Keany, 62, who moved to Farmington last year. And the nice weather also was a draw. “This is beautiful, just the way it is right now.” Her daughter, Mary McCaffrey, 29, of West Hartford, said, “I like to run into people from high school. I probably just saw two dozen of them.” Friends Colleen Karoliszyn and Colin Dinnie, both 19, also were continuing the tradition. “We’ve been doing it for so long,” said Karoliszyn of her family members, who watch the parade every year. The Brown University student then pointed to her friend Dinnie and said, “And we met up. We haven’t seen each other in a couple of months.” Dinnie, who was home from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, was excited to see his old teachers marching with their students. “I do this every year,” Dinnie said, then excitedly pointed to those marching from his alma mater, Wolcott Elementary. “That’s my old elementary school!”
From The Harford Courant on August 16, 2006
By Jeff Jacobs
CUP’S VISIT HONORS SON’S MEMORY
WEST HARTFORD – Ray Philippon looked at the long line of folks pushing out the front door and snaking around Veterans Memorial Skating Rink. His eyes fixed on the red goalie mask sitting on the table at the head of the line, a wad of donations building nearby from the mask’s chin toward its forehead. “That’s Larry’s battle gear,” Philippon said. He let out a small laugh. If anyone knows the difference between battle and athletic gear, it is a former Army man and the dad of a fallen Marine. He said it for effect. He wanted people to know how much his son loved hockey and respected the game. Leesa Philippon, her son’s gold star pinned to her shirt, said she debated whether to bring along the mask Tuesday, but in the end, she decided it was a part of Lance Corporal Lawrence R. Philippon they will forever be able to hold onto. “I’m glad we brought it,” she decided. The Stanley Cup has been to so many places and has been used for so many things. The Ottawa Silver Seven tried to drop-kick it across the Rideau Canal. Clark Gillies fed his dog from it. The Edmonton Oilers put it on stage with an exotic dancer, and so did the Rangers — the common G-string being Mark Messier. The Cup was found at the bottom of Mario Lemieux’s pool. Ed Olczyk fed Kentucky Derby winner Go for Gin from it. Stefan Lefebvre had his son baptized in it. This summer, Matt Cullen brought it to Fargo, North Dakota, for the Cup to watch its first Wiffle Ball game. On this day, when the Stanley Cup found its way within 10 feet of Larry Philippon’s Conard High goalie mask for a most noble task, it endured what Carolina Hurricanes equipment manager Bob Gorman called “a little bit of a situation.” Walt Neubrand of the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Cup’s guardian, boarded a Northwest flight in Detroit, one stop in Indianapolis, scheduled to arrive at Bradley Airport at 10:20 a.m. Neubrand and his luggage would arrive an hour late. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was that the Stanley Cup was nowhere to be found. “I was starting to get worried,” Neubrand said. The Cup, it turned out, had mistakenly been placed on a later flight direct from Detroit to Bradley. “We finally got our hands on it at 12:30 and drove as fast as we could to get here [for an event scheduled for noon],” Gorman said. Pressing question, Bob: Do the airlines use white gloves to hand-deliver the Cup? Or does it come out on the carousel like Aunt Ethel’s luggage from Lauderdale? “Carousel,” Gorman said. “It only has a little Hockey Hall of Fame sticker. Nothing blaring, ‘This is the Stanley Cup.’” Gorman once worked with Ray Philippon at this rink. He remembers Larry, age 4 or 5, running around with his dad. They’re from the same neighborhood. They attended the same high school. “Years ago, I thought if we ever won the Cup, I’d like to do something to honor veterans of the armed forces,” said Gorman, who got his start with the Whalers before they moved to Carolina in 1997. “I just didn’t know what I’d do.” He would come to know exactly what to do. It was Mother’s Day of 2005 — their 24th wedding anniversary — when Ray and Leesa Philippon got the news from Brian Letendre that their son, 22, had been killed by small arms fire in Western Iraq, fighting insurgents in the Al Anbar province near the Syrian border. In a cruel twist, Letendre would later be killed in Iraq. “For a year, Leesa tried to think why it happened on that day,” Philippon said. “I think she had an epiphany. Being on that day, so many more people could relate. Wow, on Mother’s Day. Wow, on your anniversary. Wow, combined. We have come to believe that this is Larry’s way, God’s way, of getting the word out. Our troops are out there protecting our country. “I truly believe if we pulled out right now, that Larry’s death and all those other deaths of our troops would be [for naught]. It would be reminiscent of Vietnam and Korea. There’s a lot of good going on in Iraq that a lot of people aren’t aware of. Schools are being built for girls and boys. We won’t see the fruits for 20 years until that generation moves up. Those are the ones who will not be terrorists, jihadists.” The Philippons know many Americans do not share their view. They choose to believe the dissenters lack an understanding. “I believe in freedom for all, not just America,” Leesa said. “[Letendre] brought the news to our door. Every time look at my front door, it’s there. It hurts deeply. I will never forget that. I’m also so proud of Larry. There are children in Iraq and Afghanistan who have a future they never would have had.” Larry was a proud warrior. He carried the Marine Corps flag in Ronald Reagan’s funeral procession and used to joke that it took two Army personnel to produce a Marine. And when the Philippon family started a scholarship in Larry’s name, Gorman knew this would be how he would use his day with the Stanley Cup. “I’m happy to do it,” Gorman said. “Actually, I’m honored.” The scholarship goes to a male and female student at Conard recommended by their coaches, preferably — but not necessarily — in hockey or lacrosse. Larry played both and was selected Courant All-State honorable mention in 2001 after leading the Conard hockey team to the state semifinals as a senior. To win, a student must write an essay on what it means to be an American and acknowledge having stood and recited the Pledge of Allegiance each day. “The scholarship,” Ray said, “is character-based.” The Stanley Cup is a powerful draw. There are a thousand stories engraved on the most unique trophy in sports. Stories like “One-Eyed” Frank McGee scoring 14 goals in a Stanley Cup game before he was killed at the Battle of the Somme in World War I. With a small donation to have a photo taken with it, the Stanley Cup did its job Tuesday. About $3,300 was raised. Ray and Leesa find a little sign in this. Larry wore hockey uniform number 33. And maybe there’s more, too. Ray and Leesa met in the Army, and Larry was born at Fort Bragg in North Carolina before coming to Connecticut — the opposite trip of the hockey franchise that brought the Cup here Tuesday. “I guess it makes the story full circle,” Ray said. Today, equipment manager Skip Cunningham starts a new story. He has been with the franchise since its inception, complete with all the moves. He will bring the Cup to the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and take it to a luncheon in Springfield. On Thursday morning, there is another photo session at South Windsor Arena for the benefit of the South Windsor and ECHO youth associations. That’s after he brings it to Fenway Park tonight. Cunningham wants to bring the Stanley Cup up to the Monster seats. But that’s another story.
From FallenHeroesMemorial.com
“To the family of LCpl Philippon,
I served with your son in Washington, D.C., and can honestly say he was one of the greatest Marines I have had the pleasure of working with. I truly wish it had been me that day! Thank you for having a son that showed us all what being a Marine is all about.”
— Sergeant Shawn Ballard
“Larry was my beloved nephew. He was a fine young man. It’s true he believed in God, Family & his country. He always felt a certain sense of duty to be wherever he was needed most. As a young boy, he loved to run, laugh, and play. I remember seeing him for the first time when he was about 6 or 7 in Philadelphia as we all were there for a small family reunion with his Uncle Bob, a retired Marine, and me and my family. I remember talking with Larry by phone before he joined the Marines, and he was so proud he was going to be a Marine and especially to be serving his country. Seemed like his joining the Marines brought our family closer together. Everyone wanted to call and wish him well. He was so happy. For all the young men and women, the fathers, mothers, uncles & aunts serving in Iraq …we hold you up in our prayers and wish you Godspeed. For you are our greatest heroes, and for those gone, they will never be forgotten as we keep them close in our hearts forever. I personally thank all of you for such great support of my sister Leesa & her family, Ray, Emilee & Bryan. It means so much to them and to me, too. There aren’t words enough to say how any of us feel, but we know that someday we’ll all be together in that great place called heaven, and perhaps we’ll meet all of you there, too. Thank You & God Bless.”
— Viktoria & Gary Affron of Lake City, Florida
Memorialized on a segment of Route 4 East from State Route 508 in Farmington, east to the intersection of Boulevard in West Hartford.
Memorialized on the Connecticut Veterans Memorial, Farmington Avenue and North Main Street, West Hartford, Connecticut
Lance Corporal Philippon is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, 1 Memorial Avenue, Arlington, Virginia; Section 60, Site 8181.
