Charles Edward "Ed" La Tourette
T/5 in 3133rd Signal Service Co
ASN#39471700
Born 1909 in OR, Died 1963
County of residence at enlistment: Clackamas County, OR
Other residence(s): Oregon City, OR
United States Army, European Theatre of Operations
Occupation before the war: managers and officials, n.e.c.
College education before the war: Univ. of Oregon 2 years
Ed LaTourette was born on July 24, 1909 in Oregon City, OR, the older of two sons. According to a 1956 article in the Portland Oregonian, Ed was "a third-generation member of a prominent family in banking, business, and politics in Clackamas County." His father was a bank president, his uncle was chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, and two other uncles were attorneys in Portland.
He attended the University of Oregon where he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. After leaving university in 1931 he got a job in banking and on June 22, 1932 he married MaBelle Grace Whitcomb.
Ed worked his way up in the banking world, becoming the assistant manager of the Oregon City branch of the First National Bank of Oregon by the time the war intervened.
He registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, and enlisted on March 15, 1944. By that time, he and MaBelle had become the parents of three: Evelyn, Lesley Ann, and Edward.
Ed was noted as a member of the 3133 Signal Service Company in September, 1944. It is not known if or how long he stayed with the unit, but he arrived home from his European service on June 17, 1945 with the 86th Division. (They were the first combat division to arrive back in the US after the war.) After a 30-day furlough, he was sent to the Philippines, one of the few Oregon men to serve both in Europe and the South Pacific.
Ed likely returned to banking after the war; he also worked for a while as an associate of his brother, Linwood LaTourette, in a petroleum distribution agency. He was a champion golfer until a crippling attack of polio in 1954 forced him to give up golf. (A Portland Oregonian article from that year reports that he was the 13th polio victim of the year in Clackamas County.)
Ed eventually entered politics, serving on the Oregon City School Board with a term as chairman, and winning an election to the position of county judge in 1954. He was the last to hold that job since the county commission form of government came into force during his term of office. He was re-elected in 1960 and named as chairman of the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners.
He was a member of the Atkinson Memorial Congregational Church, the Oregon City Elks Lodge, and various civic organizations. He was a past president of the Chamber of Commerce.
He died of a heart attack on February 10, 1963 and is buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Oregon City.
Sources:
1910 census
1920 census
1930 census
1932 marriage record
1940 census
1940 draft card
1944 enlistment record
1945 article in the Oregon Journal about his military service
1954 article in The Oregonian (Portland, OR) with biographical details
1956 article in The Oregonian (Portland, OR) with career highlights
1963 death notice in The Capital Journal (Salem, OR)
1963 obituary in The Oregonian (Portland, OR)
1963 Find a Grave record (includes obituary)
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/93265879/charles-edward-latourette
1963 Social Security death index