Age 78, Lawton - Services will be 12:30 p.m. Thursday in the Frontier Chapel Center, Fort Sill. Command Sergeant Major Ardoin died Sunday in Lawton. Burial with full military honors will be in the Post Cemetery under the direction of the Becker Funeral Home. The family will receive friends from 6-8 pm Wednesday at the funeral home. Command Sergeant Major Ardoin was born April 25, 1932 in Chataignier, Louisiana. He married Nellie Fontenot on April 13, 1954 in Chataignier. He enlisted in the military on January 6, 1948 and received basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and advanced individual training at Fort Sill. He earned a high school equivalent diploma in 1953, attended many Army schools, and is a graduate of the 7th Army's Noncommissioned Officers Academy. CSM Addoin earned his first-sergeant stripes at the age of 18 after only three years in the Army. He has served as first sergeant and sergeant major for 29 years continuously in four separate theaters around the world. CSM Ardoin's first tour of duty at Fort Sill began in December 1956 when he served two years as first sergeant with the 597th Armored Battalion. Other tours at Fort Sill were 1961 to 1963 and 1964 to 1967. Then following a tour in Vietnam where he was promoted to sergeant major, he again returned to Fort Sill in February 1968 as Sergeant Major of the Officer Candidate Brigade. In 1970 he served in Korea as Command Sergeant Major then returned to Fort Sill as Brigade Command Sergeant Major of Fort Sill's Field Artillery Training Center. Returning to Fort Sill in 1975, following another tour in Korea, CSM Ardoin had remained with the Field Artillery Training Center where he had been a primary force behind the development of the Training Center. The highlight of his career occurred when he was selected as one of five sergeants major in the U.S. Army to be retained past thirty years active duty. His awards and decorations include the coveted Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Meritorious Service Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm and Good Conduct Medal, 10th Award. Following his retirement CSM Ardoin served as the supervisor of Sportsman Services, Natural and Cultural Resources and Enforcement Division, DPW. He also served as a Fort Sill Game Warden. He served as chairman of the Sergeants Major Association, Chairman of the Enlisted Retiree Council, Chairman of Lawton's Lakes and Land Commission, Chairman of Greenwing Ducks Unlimited in Lawton, Chairman of the annual Lawton-Fort Sill Kid's Fishing Derby and Chairman of Fort Sill's Fish and Wildlife Association. He is survived by his wife, of the home; a son, Butch "Bubba" Ardoin, Moore, Oklahoma; a daughter, Donna Ardoin, Lake Charles, Louisiana; a grandson, Austin Miller, Lake Charles; a brother, Richard Ardoin, Eunice, Louisiana. Two brothers, Merlin and Carol, preceded him in death. Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of the donor's choice.