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→Military service
A decorated [[United States Army]] officer in [[World War II]], Grevemberg served twenty-eight months in the European Theater of Operations. He made five amphibious landings and participated in nine combat campaigns. He went overseas as a captain commanding an anti-aircraft artillery battery in the 1st Infantry Division. He received a combat promotion from General [[George S. Patton, Jr.]], to the rank of [[major]] in [[Tunisia]], and five months later, at the age of twenty-nine, during the beachhead campaign in [[Sicily]], he received from [[General]] [[Omar Bradley]] a second combat promotion, to the rank of [[Lieutenant colonel].<ref name=obit/>
A decorated [[United States Army]] officer in [[World War II]], Grevemberg served twenty-eight months in the European Theater of Operations. He made five amphibious landings and participated in nine combat campaigns. He went overseas as a captain commanding an anti-aircraft artillery battery in the 1st Infantry Division. He received a combat promotion from General [[George S. Patton, Jr.]], to the rank of [[major]] in [[Tunisia]], and five months later, at the age of twenty-nine, during the beachhead campaign in [[Sicily]], he received from [[General]] [[Omar Bradley]] a second combat promotion, to the rank of [[Lieutenant colonel].<ref name=obit/>
In 1951, Grevemberg was promoted for a third time, to the rank of colonel, and became the group commander of the 204th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Group of the Louisiana Army National Guard. He returned to active duty during the [[Berlin Wall]] crisis in 1961. His previous command was changed to the 204th Transportation (Truck) Battalion of the state National Guard, which was temporarily stationed at Fort Eustis, [[Virginia]].<ref name=obit/>
During his military service, Grevemberg received the [[Soldier's Medal|Soldier's Medal for Heroism]], the [[Legion of Merit]] for outstanding performance during the invasion at Anzio, the |Croix de Guerre with silver gilt star awarded by the [[France|French]] government for exceptional war services rendered in the liberation of France, the Army Commendation Medal, the Italian Military Valor Cross, the European-African [[Middle East]]ern Medal with nine bronze campaign stars, and a bronze arrowhead signifying participation in five amphibious landings against the [[Axis]] powers.<ref name=obit/>
During his military service, Grevemberg received the [[Soldier's Medal|Soldier's Medal for Heroism]], the [[Legion of Merit]] for outstanding performance during the invasion at Anzio, the [[Croix de guerre 1939–1945|Croix de Guerre]] with silver gilt star awarded by the [[France|French]] government for exceptional war services rendered in the liberation of France, the [[Army Commendation Medal]], the [[Italian Military Valor Cross]], the European-African [[Middle East]]ern Medal with nine bronze campaign stars, and a bronze arrowhead signifying participation in five amphibious landings against the [[Axis powers]].<ref name=obit/>
==Louisiana state police superintendent==
==Louisiana State Police superintendent==
Grevemberg was appointed in May 1952 to head the state police, based in [[Baton Rouge]], by newly elected Governor [[Robert F. Kennon]]. Grevemberg's autobiography, ''My Wars: Nazis, Mobsters, Gambling and Corruption,''<ref>([[Lafayette]], Louisiana: Beau Bayou, 2004), ISBN 0-935619-01-1, ISBN 978-0-935619-01-0.</ref> tells about his experiences with the [[Mafia]], which he said tried to kill him and bribe him and to kidnap his sons. The mob sent him a death-threat letter. Illegal gambling had existed in Louisiana for a century, and the mob began operating there during the administration of Governor [[Huey P. Long|Huey Pierce Long, Jr.]], when [[New York City]] mobster [[Frank Costello]] brought slot machines into the state. Grevemberg's book chronicles his fight against gambling and vice. Slot machines and casino devices, illegal in Louisiana at the time, were operated by the [[Mafia]] and other criminal elements.
Grevemberg was appointed in May 1952 to head the state police, based in [[Baton Rouge]], by newly elected Governor [[Robert F. Kennon]]. Grevemberg's autobiography, ''My Wars: Nazis, Mobsters, Gambling and Corruption,''<ref>([[Lafayette]], Louisiana: Beau Bayou, 2004), ISBN 0-935619-01-1, ISBN 978-0-935619-01-0.</ref> tells about his experiences with the [[Mafia]], which he said tried to kill him and bribe him and to kidnap his sons. The mob sent him a death-threat letter. Illegal gambling had existed in Louisiana for a century, and the mob began operating there during the administration of Governor [[Huey P. Long|Huey Pierce Long, Jr.]], when [[New York City]] mobster [[Frank Costello]] brought slot machines into the state. Grevemberg's book chronicles his fight against gambling and vice. Slot machines and casino devices, illegal in Louisiana at the time, were operated by the [[Mafia]] and other criminal elements.
Grevemberg defied the opposition and conducted more than one thousand lightning raids that shut down much of the illegal gambling. Most of the gamblers then moved to [[Nevada]]. He destroyed 8,229 slot machines. Grevemberg vastly reduced the amount of narcotics sold on Louisiana streets, dismantled an eight-state sexual slavery ring, and modernized the Louisiana state police into a premier law-enforcement agency.<ref name=obit/>
Grevemberg defied the opposition and conducted more than one thousand lightning raids that shut down much of the illegal gambling. Most of the gamblers then moved to [[Nevada]]. He destroyed 8,229 slot machines. Grevemberg vastly reduced the amount of narcotics sold on Louisiana streets, dismantled an eight-state sexual slavery ring, and modernized the Louisiana state police into a premier law-enforcement agency.<ref name=obit/>
Grevemberg said that he could not have carried on under constant threats from the mob without the inspiration of his wife, ''nee'' Dorothy Maguire (September 1, 1917 – December 9, 2010), a New Orleans native whom he called "the love of my life." The couple had identical tiwn sons born in 1949 – Francis J. "Pete" Grevemberg, married to the former Melissa Coleman, of Conyers, [[Georgia]], and and Carroll S. Grevemberg, wed to the former Alice Henderson of New Orleans – two grandchildren, David Grevemberg of [[Bonn]], [[Germany]], later Killearn, [[Scotland]], and Elisa Grevemberg of [[Reims], [[France]], and two great-grandchildren.<ref name=dmg>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theadvocate/obituary.aspx?n=dorothy-mcguire-grevemberg&pid=147135085|title=Dorothy McGuire Grevemberg|publisher=legacy.com|accessdate=December 15, 2010}}</ref> In his fight against the lawless elements, Grevemberg was aided by journalists such as Jim McLean, as well as pastors and citizens from the Louisiana Moral and Civic Foundation, who helped to give Grevemberg the will to persevere.
Grevemberg said that he could not have carried on under constant threats from the mob without the inspiration of his wife, ''nee'' Dorothy Maguire (September 1, 1917 – December 9, 2010), a New Orleans native whom he called "the love of my life." The couple had identical tiwn sons born in 1949 – Francis J. "Pete" Grevemberg, married to the former Melissa Coleman, of Conyers, [[Georgia]], and and Carroll S. Grevemberg, wed to the former Alice Henderson of New Orleans – two grandchildren, David Grevemberg of [[Bonn]], [[Germany]], later Killearn, [[Scotland]], and Elisa Grevemberg of [[Reims], [[France]], and two great-grandchildren.<ref name=dmg>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theadvocate/obituary.aspx?n=dorothy-mcguire-grevemberg&pid=147135085|title=Dorothy McGuire Grevemberg|publisher=legacy.com|accessdate=December 15, 2010}}</ref> In his fight against the lawless elements, Grevemberg was aided by journalists such as Jim McLean, as well as pastors and citizens from the Louisiana Moral and Civic Foundation, who helped to give Grevemberg the will to persevere.
Democratic [[U.S. Senator]] [[Estes Kefauver]] of [[Tennessee]], chairman of the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the Influence of Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, credited Grevemberg with transforming Louisiana from being one of the most corrupt states to one of the cleanest during the 1950s. Gambling spots across south Louisiana were closed ''en masse,'' and the raids on illegal liquor sales even touched Kennon's hometown of [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]] in Webster Parish. On a Saturday in November 1954, the day of the traditional [[Louisiana State University]] v. [[University of Arkansas]] at [[Fayetteville, Arkansas|Fayetteville]] football game in [[Shreveport]], a state police raid in Minden resulted in the arrest of several local residents on charges of ootlegging, including the then-Democratic mayor, [[John T. David]].<ref>John Allison Agan, Echoes of our Past, ''[[Minden Press-Herald]],', October 8, 2004.</ref> David had to step down as mayor, but voters quickly elected him to the Webster Parish Police Jury, the parish governing council akin to the county commission in most other states.
Democratic [[U.S. Senator]] [[Estes Kefauver]] of [[Tennessee]], chairman of the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the Influence of Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, credited Grevemberg with transforming Louisiana from being one of the most corrupt states to one of the cleanest during the 1950s. Gambling spots across south Louisiana were closed ''en masse,'' and the raids on illegal liquor sales even touched Kennon's hometown of [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]] in Webster Parish. On a Saturday in November 1954, the day of the traditional [[Louisiana State University]] v. [[University of Arkansas]] at [[Fayetteville, Arkansas|Fayetteville]] football game in [[Shreveport]], a state police raid in Minden resulted in the arrest of several local residents on charges of ootlegging, including the then-Democratic mayor, [[John T. David]].<ref>John Allison Agan, Echoes of our Past, ''[[Minden Press-Herald]],', October 8, 2004.</ref> David had to step down as mayor, but voters quickly elected him to the Webster Parish Police Jury, the parish governing council akin to the county commission in most other states.
When state officials first considered legalizing gambling, Grevemberg said:
When state officials first considered legalizing gambling, Grevemberg said:
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
I think that if they want gambling, it must be legal. However, legal or illegal gambling corrupts public officials, especially police. It's a breeding ground for other kinds of vice. I think it would hurt our state immeasurably. The state has gone down the drain for the umpteenth time in my lifetime. I just think it's pathetic!"<ref name=obit/></blockquote>
I think that if they want gambling, it must be legal. However, legal or illegal gambling corrupts public officials, especially police. It's a breeding ground for other kinds of vice. I think it would hurt our state immeasurably. The state has gone down the drain for the umpteenth time in my lifetime. I just think it's pathetic!"<ref name=obit/></blockquote>
Grevemberg's crusade was the subject of a 1958 film by Universal Studios titled ''Damn Citizen." John Charles "Keith" Andes (1920-2005) played Grevemberg, and Margaret Hayes was cast as Dorothy. Gene Evans (1922-1998) played incorruptible police Major Al Arthur. Evans is best remembered as the father, Rob McLaughlin, on ''My Friend Flick,'' a western [[television]] series, in which [[Johnny Washbrook]] played Rob's son, Ken, who ridesand trains Flicka. <ref>IMDB ''Damn Citizen'': http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051515/</ref>
Grevemberg's crusade was the subject of a 1958 film by Universal Studios titled ''Damn Citizen." John Charles "Keith" Andes (1920-2005) played Grevemberg, and Margaret Hayes was cast as Dorothy. Gene Evans (1922-1998) played incorruptible police Major Al Arthur. Evans is best remembered as the father, Rob McLaughlin, on ''My Friend Flick,'' a western [[television]] series, in which [[Johnny Washbrook]] played Rob's son, Ken, who ridesand trains Flicka. <ref>IMDB ''Damn Citizen'': http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051515/</ref>