Larry does not talk too much about his time in Vietnam, and when he does, it's only for a very short time.  These are some stories Larry shared with me.  All are only snippets of those days because they are short mentions-in-passing. 

When Larry enlisted, his original training was for the Military Police and that was the assignment he expected when they landed in Vietnam in 1971.

When his unit arrived, they were ordered into formation on the tarmac so they could assign their MP posting location.

 He explained how they made the assignments in alphabetical order.  So, by the time got down to the S’s, they had run out of  assignments.

They assigned Larry and the other remaining soldiers to the AirCav Intel Office, where he aided in the translation and forwarding of messages.  He also called-in artillery strikes for locations requesting them. 

At this time, the North Vietnam forces had just crossed the border into the south in their advance.  The Huey helicopter forces were in short supply of crew, so Larry and a couple of his friends volunteered.  After only a few hours of training, Larry became a Door Gunner in a Huey.

Larry said at one point, he and many fellow soldiers were due for some rest and relaxation, and were to be flown in a Chinook Heli to a location near the beach in the south.  Just before departure, he was asked if he would stay behind to assist in another duty.  He volunteered.

The Chinook took off with his 34 friends, subsequently crashed, and killed all aboard.