Palm Bay City Council Candidate Chandler Langevin Proud of Family Lineage of Military Service to America and State of Florida
By Space Coast Daily // October 17, 2024
Langevin enlisted in U.S. Navy as Hospital Corpsman, received Naval Commendation Medal for lifesaving actions
Chandler Langevin can trace his family’s history of service back all the way to the American Revolution.
Chandler Langevin is currently running for Palm Bay City Council Seat 3 in the upcoming election that will take place on November 5.
While he currently seeks to serve our community on the council, his service to the United States began when he was 18 years old and enlisted in the United States Navy as a Hospital Corpsman.
His nearly 11-year career attached to the Marine Corps infantry and to 4th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO) brought him around the world, including deployments to Afghanistan and to the Pacific theater.
Langevin would receive a Naval Commendation Medal for lifesaving actions on one of these tours.
When asked what led Langevin to enlist during a time of war and to voluntarily attach to frontline Marine Corps units his response was simple, “It’s in my blood.”
Langevin can trace his family’s history of service back all the way to the American Revolution.
“I’m a Southerner,” Langevin said, “the South is known for its warrior culture.
“From George Washington, to Stonewall Jackson, to Chesty Puller, the South has produced the lion’s share of America’s great military leaders and even today voluntary recruitment is un-proportionately higher in Southern States. There’s something in our Southern blood that prompts us to serve when our nation calls on us.”
Langevin has traced his family’s military service as far back as the American Revolution, where his direct descendants fought under Elijah Clark in the backwoods of Georgia.
Shortly after Florida was opened to American settlers in the early 1800s a series of conflicts called the Seminole Wars kicked off.
Langevin’s fourth great grandfather Seaborn Kelly left his small farm in Georgia to serve in the Seminole Wars. At the end of the war Seaborn chose to remain in Florida making Langevin a seventh generation Floridian today.
Seaborne was 50 years old when the War Between the States began and despite his age, he immediately answered the call from Florida’s Governor to protect hearth and home from the Northern invasion.
Due to his age and experience in the Seminole Wars, he was promoted to Company Sergeant.
Seaborn would go on to fight under General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at Seven Pines, Seven Days, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and was finally wounded at Spotsylvania Courthouse in 1864. He was taken prisoner and spent a year in a Union prison and ultimately survived the war.
Langevin’s third great grandfather Malcolm Felix Shaw also fought for the South serving in Florida’s home guard. He was wounded at the Battle of Olustee, the only major battle to take place in Florida during the war.
More recently, Langevin’s grandfather Gerald Langevin was a career Air Force veteran and served in Vietnam. In his later career he was assigned to Patrick Air Force Base.
Gerald would have three sons including Chandler’s father, all of which would serve at least 20 years in the Air Force. Chandler’s father Roger would retire from the Air Force to accept a position as a NASA Federal Agent at the Kennedy Space Center where he served for 23 years, until retiring earlier this year.
“I am proud to come from a long line of Floridians and even prouder to be from the Space Coast,” said Chandler.
“I could live anywhere I want but I choose to stay in Brevard County because it is an amazing place with so much opportunity for a young family. My only interest in running for office is to continue my family’s legacy of serving.”
Paid for and approved by Chandler Langevin, candidate for Palm Bay City Council Seat 3
