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2 Your Town Plaquemine: LSU's Laville Hall is named in honor of Plaquemine native Marine Reservist
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BATON ROUGE — Generations have walked past and lived in Laville Hall on LSU's campus, but most don't know the story behind the name.
Germaine Laville was born and raised in Plaquemine. She dreamed of being a teacher, and that dream came true when she graduated from LSU.
But her calling changed with the advent of World War Two.
"It was her calling, she said, to represent her family and she joined the Marine Reserve," the LSU Military Museum's James Gregory said.
She rose to the rank of corporal and was stationed at Cherry Point Naval Air Station in North Carolina, where she taught aerial gunnery.
On June 3, 1944, a fire broke out in a training room where she worked. As smoke and flames filled the bulding, Laville ignored the danger and ran to the top floor to warn her friends and rescue other marines, rather than escaping.
"Unfortunately, in the chaos, Germaine perished in the fire after saving her friends. It made her the first woman Marine to die in World War Two," Gregory said.
In 1948, LSU named Laville Hall in her honor. It is one of two buildings on campus named after service members who died in the war. The other is Alex Box Stadium, named after Simeon Alex Box, who was killed in action in 1943 in North Africa.
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