Lawrence Salmon

Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence R. Salmon (Ret.) Lawrence Regis Salmon of Taos, New Mexico died on April 7, 2008. A former native of McKeesport, Pennsylvania, Mr. Salmon was born on March 9, 1943 and was the son of Bernard P. and Mary Louise (Gavin) Salmon. He graduated from Elizabeth-Forward High School, attended Penn State University and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1965. He completed Officer's Candidate School in 1966 and served two combat tours of duty in Vietnam with the 5th Special Forces Group. During his service in Vietnam, Mr. Salmon was awarded two Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart. After his service in Vietnam, Mr. Salmon served with the 7th Special Forces Group in Panama and as a Foreign Area Officer in Guatemala and Honduras. In between his Latin American assignments, he graduated from the Command and General Staff College in Leavenworth, Kansas and also received a Masters Degree in Personnel Management from Webster College of St. Louis, Missouri. Mr. Salmon completed his military service with the anti-terrorism unit of the 10th Special Forces Group in Germany and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1990. Mr. Salmon's non-combat military commendations and citations include the Legion of Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, two Meritorious Service Medals and two Army Commendation Medals. Following his retirement from the Army, Mr. Salmon worked in various capacities for the U.S. State Department in the Azores, Cuba, Venezuela and Mexico. He moved to Taos, New Mexico in 2006. He is survived by his wife, Sandra J. Salmon, his children, Kathleen (Salmon) Johnson and Kevin P. Salmon, his grandchildren Llewelyn and Gavin Johnson, his sister, Patricia Henry and his brothers Bernard P. and Michael C. Salmon. Visitation was held on Friday, April 11, 2008, a prayer service followed at Rivera Chapel in Taos. In lieu of floral arrangements, the family requests that donations be made to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, One Intrepid Square, West 46th Street and 12th Avenue, New York, New York 10036 (http://www.fallenheroesfund.org). This charity provides support for the families of military personnel lost in service to our nation and for severely wounded military personnel and veterans.