RTB Lt. Col. William L. “Larry” Whelan
Whelan, William Lawrence
July 5, 1929 – January 9, 2011
William Lawrence Whelan, 81, of Laguna Niguel, California. A retired Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Marines Corps, he served 27 years as a jet pilot. He was also the Marine helicopter pilot for Jacqueline Kennedy in Marine 2 and Marine 1 for President Johnson.
He served two tours of duty in Viet Nam, where he received two distinguished flying crosses for the Tet offensive and the Bronze Star air medal combat V with 26 attachments and the Purple Heart.
Larry was born in South Kingston, Rhode Island, and was a graduate of Boston College class of 1952. One sister, Peggy Keenan and his loving companion, Lillian Keane, survives him. Gifts in his memory may be made to St. Mary’s Hall, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.