Vance Gabriel Plauché (August 25, 1897 – April 2, 1976) was an American attorney and politician from Louisiana. 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 ...

, he served for a single term in the

77th Congress The 77th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1941, ...

, from 1941 to 1943.

Early life

Plauché was born in

Plaucheville, Louisiana Plaucheville is a village in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 248 at the 2010 census. Geography Plaucheville is located along Bayou Choupique at (30.964664, -91.981139). According to the United States Census Bure ...

on August 25, 1897. He attended private and public schools in

Avoyelles Parish Avoyelles (french: Paroisse des Avoyelles) is a parish located in central eastern Louisiana on the Red River where it effectively becomes the Atchafalaya River and meets the Mississippi River. As of the 2010 census, the population was 42,07 ...

and in 1914 received a Bachelor of Science degree from

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

' St. Francis Xavier Commercial College, where he received awards for excellence in typing and final examinations. In 1918 he received his Bachelor of Laws degree from Loyola University in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, where he served as class president. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1918, and practiced in Lake Charles.

Start of career

During

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 ...

, Plauché served in 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 ...

. Inducted into the service at

Camp Beauregard Camp Beauregard is a U.S. Army installation located northeast of Pineville, Louisiana, primarily in Rapides Parish, but also extending northward into Grant Parish. It is operated and owned by the Louisiana National Guard as one of their main t ...

, Louisiana, he was a member of Loyola University's hospital unit, which subsequently served in

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

as Base Hospital 102. He attained the rank of private first class before being discharged at

Camp Shelby Camp Shelby is a military post whose North Gate is located at the southern boundary of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on United States Highway 49. It is the largest state-owned training site in the nation. During wartime, the camp's mission is to se ...

, Mississippi in 1919. Plauché was city attorney of Lake Charles from 1928 to 1932, and district counsel for the Home Owners' Loan Corporation from 1933 to 1935. In late 1939 and early 1940, he managed the successful gubernatorial campaign of

Sam H. Jones Samuel Houston Jones (July 15, 1897 – February 8, 1978) was the 46th Governor of Louisiana for the term from 1940 to 1944. He defeated the renowned Earl Kemp Long in the 1940 Democratic runoff primary election. Eight years later, Long the ...

. In 1940, he served as secretary of the State Civil Service commission, and was a delegate to the Democratic state convention.

U.S. House of Representatives

In 1940, Plauché was the successful Democratic nominee for a seat in the United States House of Representatives. He served in the

, January 3, 1941 to January 3, 1943. During his House service, he was a member of the Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation, Committee on Invalid Pensions, and Committee on Patents. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1942, and resumed the practice of law.

Later life

In addition to practicing law, Plauché was a director of Calcassieu Savings & Loan and the Plauché Engineering company. His civic, fraternal, and professional memberships included the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

Kiwanis Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. Since 1987, the organizatio ...

chamber of commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

, his local, county, state bar associations, and the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

. Plauché died in Lake Charles on April 2, 1976. He was buried at Consolata Cemetery in Lake Charles.

Awards

In recognition of his services to the Catholic church,

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

awarded Plauché the

Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great ( la, Ordo Sancti Gregorii Magni; it, Ordine di San Gregorio Magno) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of ...

(Knight).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plauche, Vance 1897 births 1976 deaths People from Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana Politicians from Lake Charles, Louisiana United States Army personnel of World War I Loyola University New Orleans College of Law alumni Louisiana city attorneys Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana 20th-century American politicians Knights of St. Gregory the Great Burials in Louisiana