Long after his death, a veteran’s service resonates

Louis Ruffin was a man of humble beginnings who wasn’t afraid of hard work.

His death on March 4, 2012, at the age of 94, marked a turning point in the lives of family members who say they were blessed by having him as a part of their lives. But Louis touched many other people, to whom he had no blood ties.

As a chaplain to several local veterans organizations, he contributed his wisdom, strong sensibility and work ethic to his community. Veterans Day – always an important observance for Louis’ loved ones – now takes on even greater significance for them.

He grew up near Waterproof Plantation, where he did field work from a young age. In 1942 the soft-spoken young man answered his country’s call to serve, finding himself in the Pacific theater, where he earned a Purple Heart from injuries suffered when the ship he was traveling in was torpedoed by the Japanese.

Louis continued his service in the South Pacific until the war ended, returning to his wife and family, with a new commitment to a different kind of service, comforting and leading fellow veterans in Terrebonne Parish.

“He was a gentle person, very humble,” recalls his great nephew, Lt. Dana Coleman of the Houma Police Department.

Coleman said Louis taught him the importance of overcoming adversity, of not allowing setbacks to get in the way of accomplishing whatever one desired.

“When he came home he went back to working in the sugar cane fields,” said Lorraine Ruffin, one of eight children born to him and his wife, the late Picola Lyons Ruffin. “He became chaplain for American Legion Post 31, the VFW on Barrow Street and United Veterans League. He was born with the knowledge of the Holy Spirit. I never heard a coarse word from his mouth.”

Early in his military career Louis was baptized by fire, while heading for Brisbane, Australia.

On Nov. 11, 1943, the C1-B type cargo ship, in use as a personnel carrier, was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-21. More than 100 lives were lost. But according to accounts of the incident Louis was among those responsible for saving lives during what became a 36-hour ordeal of survival.

Despite the hellish experience loved ones say his faith and willingness to serve his fellow man became stronger still.

“What he always taught us was to follow the voice of God, and that we must discern for ourselves what God says to us in his own spiritual manner,” Lorraine said. “He would tell us stay with God and everything would be OK.”

In addition to his chaplain duties, he served as chairman of the Deacon Board at St. Luke Baptist Church, and as church secretary.

“He always said he was grateful to God that he could be in the service of God.” Lorraine said.

Louis was also a member of the Terrebonne Parish Men Day Association, for which he also performed chaplain service, a founding member of the Masonic Stone Square Lodge 239 as a worshipful master; the Sunflower Chapter 205 Order of the Eastern Star and the Disabled American Veterans.

Local veterans say they vividly recall Louis attending meetings of their groups with his wife, and how after her death in 2004 he continued attending on his own.

He retained his faculties even into advanced age, Lorraine said, always looking for an opportunity to give because he loved his community so much.

Kidney failure took its toll on Louis, family members said, and he died just shy of his 95th birthday. Lorraine marked the occasion during the week he passed by making one his favorite meals — pasta with meatballs — as a special sort of tribute.

For that meal, one of the many large feasts she often made for family, Lorraine cooked 95 meatballs, to mark the number of years he would have lived were one more birthday allowed.

“I know he could see me,” she said. “I know he does, that he watches all of us, all the time.”

At his funeral service, Louis was praised by retired Brig. Gen. Hunt Downer Jr., as a man who gave his country a blank check — his life — for country and community to spend as they saw fit.

“One of his greatest lessons to us was how whatever state he was in, he could find a way to be content,” Lorraine said. “Good, bad or indifferent he made himself satisfied and comfortable. That is the kind of man that he was.”

– Twitter@bayouscribe

Louis Ruffin was aboard the Cape San Juan, a 6711 gross ton C1-B type cargo ship, when it was torpedoed near the Fiji Islands on Nov. 11, 1943, by a Japanese submarine, killing 100 military passengers and crew. The ship sank the next day and Ruffin, with other survivors, struggled in shark-infested waters for 36 hours before being rescued.