COTTONPORT, La. (KLFY) — David M. Lemoine, 69, of Syracuse, Neb., — a Cottonport, La. native — died on Dec. 28, surrounded by his family, after a fierce battle with Covid-19.
Lemoine worked as a farmer until 1985, when he and his wife and children moved to California, where he worked first as a correctional officer and then as a U.S. Marshal. In 1987, the family moved to Houston, Tx., where David began his illustrious career as a Special Agent with the FBI. His efforts over the next 10 years resulted in some of the largest drug seizures in history and helped to bring down numerous drug cartel leaders. He moved his family to Montana in 1998, where he fell in love with the beauty of the mountains and made a home in Red Lodge. His career in Montana focused mainly on putting an end to human trafficking and the exploitation of women and girls through prostitution. He was instrumental in passing legislation in both Montana and Nebraska to increase penalties for sex trafficking.
He retired in 2005, after 20 years of loyal service to the federal government, but not being a man to sit idle, he found his way to Afghanistan. At the age of 57, he went to work as a human intelligence specialist for the state department. Upon his return home, he spent the last decade of his life advocating for Afghan and Iraqi combat interpreters to be given sanctuary visas and a safe home in America.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be given to a fund established to assist interpreters and their families coming to the United States after service to the U.S. military. https://gofund.me/4bcd818f