Once the top solo touring accordion act in the United States and a decorated veteran, Malton's Lloyd La Vaux saw his career disintegrate after speaking out against the Vietnam War.

In 1968, the Bramalea Guardian did in-depth profiles of “The New Mississaugans,” a cross-section of residents in the newly created town. La Vaux moved to Canada in 1967, moving to Malton after visiting a friend who worked at the de Havilland Aircraft of Canada plant in the community.

His career started in 1929, as a six-year-old touring vaudeville stages as a duo act with his father. When the United States entered the Second World War, he joined and was assigned to the Intelligence Division, thanks to the fact he could speak German, French and Italian.

He told reporter Arthur Lowe that he was among the shock troops at the invasion of Normandy, and received the Silver Star for “gallantry in action.” Later sent on a solo mission near the Luxemburg border, he was captured and sent to a prisoner of war camp in Kustrin, Poland. Escaping the camp, he made it back to Paris through the Soviet Union and Istanbul.

Before and after the war, he was a headline act, performing in 23 coast-to-coast tours of the U.S. and Canada, and concerts in at least 21 other countries. Performing classics by great composers like Bach, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, and Gershwin, a critic dubbed him “the poet of the accordion.” His career continued into the 1960s, despite the general flagging interest in the instrument.

Travelling through Southeast Asia as part of a U.S. State Department “advisory corp.” La Vaux saw residents were gradually warming up to ideals like democracy. Once the U.S. became involved in the Vietnam War, he told the Guardian that “when I saw what was happening, I resigned.”

He told the Toronto Daily Star in 1969, “I came to the conclusion that the American people simply didn’t care if a Vietnamese child lost his life.”

He returned to the States to find that his once hectic career was gone. One agent said “we dare not touch you,” because of his political views.

Visiting a friend in Malton, he decided to stay, opening La Vaux School of Music. He returned stateside in 2008, and died in 2011, age 87.



