Larry G. Sale (October 19, 1893 – October 27, 1977) was a law enforcement officer from

Claiborne Parish Claiborne Parish (french: Paroisse de Claiborne) is a List of parishes in Louisiana, parish located in the northwestern section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish was formed in 1828, and was named for the first List of Governors of Louis ...

in north

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

considered to have been his state's most decorated soldier of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. David Wade exhibit,

Herbert S. Ford Memorial Museum The Herbert S. Ford Memorial Museum is a museum of local history and culture housed in the former Claiborne Hotel at 519 South Main Street in Homer in Claiborne Parish in North Louisiana. The Homer Chamber of Commerce is headquartered inside the tw ...

Homer, Louisiana Homer is a town in and the parish seat of Claiborne Parish in northern Louisiana, United States. Named for the Greek poet Homer, the town was laid out around the Courthouse Square in 1850 by Frank Vaughn. The present-day brick courthouse, built ...

Biographical sketch

A native of Haynesville, Sale entered the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in 1917 at the age of twenty-two and reached the rank of

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

with service in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. From 1920 to 1928, Sale was a deputy under Claiborne Parish Sheriff John Coleman. During this time of national

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

, Sale attempted to halt illegal whisky being sold in Claiborne Parish during a petroleum boom. He joined the Louisiana Bureau of Investigations under

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Huey Pierce Long, Jr. Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "the Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination ...

On the night of Long's assassination on September 8, 1935, he transported the governor to the hospital in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

, only to be told to return Long to the state capitol to find out who had shot him. Long died several days later from ramifications relating to the wound. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, Sale was elected sheriff of Claiborne Parish in 1936 and served until 1944. Oddly, another Long bodyguard, Elliot D. Coleman, was elected in 1936 as the sheriff of

Tensas Parish Tensas Parish (french: Paroisse des Tensas) is a parish located in the northeastern section of the State of Louisiana; its eastern border is the Mississippi River. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,252. It is the least populated paris ...

in eastern Louisiana and remained in office until his defeat in 1960. On Sale's death,

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Joe D. Waggonner of

Louisiana's 4th congressional district Louisiana's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district is located in the northwestern part of the state and is based in Shreveport-Bossier City. It also includes the cities of Minden, De ...

penned a letter of condolences to Mrs. Eoline B. Sale (1905-1997), which is displayed at the

in Homer. Waggonner wrote: "Without men of courage and willingness to take up arms to defend America overseas, future generations of Americans would not be able to enjoy the liberties we cherish." Sale, his wife, and son, Larry Gray Sale (1929-1982), are all interred at Arlington Cemetery in Homer. His daughter, Catherine Onita Sale (born 1926), died on October 31, 2015, in Georgia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sale, Larry 1893 births 1977 deaths Louisiana Democrats Louisiana sheriffs People from Haynesville, Louisiana Louisiana local politicians United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army soldiers 20th-century American politicians