Lieutenant Joseph D Ledoux

J. David Ledoux was born in Montreal on March 14th 1922. At the age of 18 in 1940 he joined the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion and did his parachute training in Shilo, Manitoba. In July 1943, the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion was dispatched to England and came under the command of the 3rd Parachute Brigade of the British 6th Airborne Division. 

He entered Loyola College (a Montreal H.S.) COTC program (equivalent to ROTC in the States) in Oct 1939. During his time in the COTC program (Oct 1939 to Oct 1941) he was a Sergeant Instructor, Qualified as a Machine Gunnery, Driver M.T. vehicles Class III, and a P.T. Instructor. He was appointed/commissioned 2nd Lieutenant March 1942.

Upon passing his qualifications he became a member of the 2nd Battalion Royal Montreal Regiment starting on 30 Oct 1941.  

He left the Royal Montreal Regiment to become a paratrooper. He joined the Active service of 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion on 25 April 1944. Qualified as a paratrooper at Camp Shilo Manitoba in June 1944.

Assigned to the British 6th Airborne Division once he arrived in England in Oct 1944.

When J. David Ledoux returned from the war to Montreal, he was featured in an advertisement across Canada to encourage returning GI's to make use of their military benefits. Which he did, going to McGill University and obtaining his Electrical Engineering degree in the late 1940's. He spent his career in aerospace engineering, specializing in gyroscopes for jet fighters and spacecraft. He went to Cape Kennedy (named that in 1963 to 1973) many times during the Apollo Mission years, being a responsible party for the gyroscope and guidance systems.

He spent much of his career with Northrop Electronics (Boston area) as the Director of Quality Assurance for their Precision Product Line.  He lived much of the second half of his life in a small seaside town of Cohasset, Massachusetts. He was married to Hilda Moffett McGeown (Ledoux) from 1951 until he passed away in 2002. They met after the war in Montreal. She was from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and was a Morse Code (Signet) operator with the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) during the war, stationed at RAF Chicksands, England. They had four children together, three boys and one girl. 

Dave Ledoux was an avid skier for many years and a big fan of the Montreal Canadiens professional hockey team. He also continued parachuting in his 60's and 70's (off static lines and free-falling jumps). In his remaining years he was very active in his small town community working in the historical museum, consignment shop, driving the senior shuttle, assisting with the local cable TV station and belonging to the "Old Goats" retired men's organization.  He was especially fond of his two large Bernese Mountain dogs which he walked everyday through the small seaside town. 

He was a good father and husband, well educated, well mannered and well liked.