ALDRICH, LAWRENCE LEE

Name: Lawrence Lee Aldrich
Rank/Branch: E4/US Army
Unit: Company B, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade
Date of Birth: 16 July 1947 (Fayetteville NC)
Home City of Record: Ft. Worth TX
Date of Loss: 06 May 1968
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 141827N 1090237E (BR890825)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 3
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground

Other Personnel In Incident: (none missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 June 1990 from one or more of the
following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with
POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews.

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: SP4 Lawrence L. Aldrich was a rifleman assigned to Company B., 2nd
Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade. On May 6, 1968, he was on a
search and clear mission in Bien Dien Province, South Vietnam when a friendly
air strike was directed at hostile forces in his vicinity. A 750-pound bomb was
seen to impact on his last known location. He was the only man in his company to
be in this position.

A platoon leader was later able to search the area where Aldrich was last seen
but found no trace of him. A thorough search of the area revealed no remains
that could be identified as his.

War is hell. Men are killed by other men whom they call their enemy. But men are
also killed by "misadventure" - by senseless drowning, falls, and by being in
the wrong place at the wrong time. From all appearances, it seems that Aldrich
was in the wrong place - one where the bombs dropped by his own comrades would
take his life.

At 19, Larry Aldrich had just begun to live.

Because no trace was found, Aldrich's name is maintained with honor among those
who are missing, prisoner, and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. There can be
no chance that Aldrich survived the explosion on May 6, 1968. But for others who
are missing, conclusions are not so easy to draw.

Some one hundred men were known to have been captured by the enemy, yet never
returned. Many were alive and well when last seen, evading, or awaiting rescue.
Others simply disappeared. Over 10,000 reports have been received relating to
these men, convincing many that hundreds of these Americans are still alive,
captive, and want to come home. One can imagine that Larry would gladly serve on
one more search mission to help bring them home.
