OH OH - Rock Napoleon Leblanc, Cincinnati, 1942

Leblanc may have died abroad which could explain lack of paper trail in the US. He may have re-enlisted to serve during WW2 and got KIA or MIA (not all service records and war casualties were properly documented) or decided to stay wherever he had been sent after the war. Also his family background indicates that he likely had relatives in Canada and may have moved there. Unfortunately his last name is a very common one on both sides of the border, making research difficult. Also he was part of the last generation of self-reliant rural Americans who routinely lived their whole lives without carrying any sort of official document because it wasn't required. Assuming Leblanc was Catholic, he would typically obtain social benefits through his Church, so church records could be a source of info.

Rock Napoleon Leblanc was born in Burlington Vermont in October 1896 to Leon Leblanc and Delima Richards.

He was served in the US Navy during WW1 aboard the U.S.S Tallahassee a submarine support ship and was discharged in 1919. From 1919 to the late 1930’s there is not a trace of the man. According to family he’d pop in every two years to say hi and would typically be the life of any event but didn’t talk too much about his personal life....

LINK:

Rock Napoleon Leblanc - Missin - Genealogy.com

USS Tallahassee, World War I

The keel for Monitor No. 9 (BM-9) was laid down in January 1899 at the Crescent Shipyard in Elizabethport, New Jersey by the Lewis Nixon ship works company. She was launched on 30 November 1901 and commissioned the USS Florida on 18 June 1903. The FLORIDA was renamed TALLAHASSEE on 1 July 1908 to free the State name for assignment to a new battleship. The model for the FLORIDA battleship is on display at the Museum of Florida History.

At various times between 1906 and 1917, TALLAHASSEE served as the Naval Academy's midshipman training ship, trained Naval Reservists, and conducted ordnance experimentation. She was the ship chosen to prove that stacked turrets would be safe and effective. In 1915 she was converted to a submarine tender. During World War I, TALLAHASSEE served in the Canal Zone, the Virgin Islands, and the Bermuda areas, earning the World War I Victory Medal for the period 6 April 1917 to 11 November 1918. She was decommissioned on 24 March 1922.

Length: 252 ft. · Beam: 50 ft. · Draft: 12 ft. 6 in. · Displacement: 3,225 tons · Crew: 220
Armament: Two 12"/40 cal., Three 4"/50 cal., One 3"/50 cal., Two 6 pound guns