Maj. Gen. Roland Lajoie was a U.S. Army veteran and an expert in Soviet technology who proved to be a key leader during the last years of the Cold War.
- Died: October 28, 2023 (Who else died on October 28?)
- Details of death: Died in West Wilton, New Hampshire, at the age of 87.
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Roland Lajoie’s legacy
Lajoie was the youngest of eight children, born in Nashua, New Hampshire. He was able to attend the University of New Hampshire when his siblings pooled their money to fund his education. Lajoie graduated in 1958, earned a commission to the U.S. Army, and soon found himself doing two combat tours during the Vietnam War.
During the war, Lajoie became an expert in Soviet technology and military capabilities. In 1985, this expertise would prove to be vital. A Soviet soldier shot and killed an American officer and Lajoie’s friend, Major Arthur “Nick” Nicholson Jr., prompting a sudden escalation in Cold War tensions. A colonel at the time, Lajoie raced to East Germany and helped end the situation without further violence.
The incident typified Lajoie’s career, which was largely spent working behind the scenes to control often heated incidents between the Soviet Union and the United States. He ended up being among those who supervised the dismantling of Soviet-era nuclear warheads following the signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 1988. In that capacity, he formed and led the On-Site Inspection Agency (OSIA) until 1991.
Lajoie retired from the U.S. Army in 1994, though he continued to serve in a civilian capacity. He was deputy assistant secretary in the Pentagon under President Bill Clinton, and he was chairman of a U.S.-Russia joint commission to search for missing American service members, among other roles.
Tributes to Roland Lajoie
Full obituary: Union Leader
