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
Refno: 1161
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. Updated by the P.O.W.
NETWORK.

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.

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