| The Incident
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 06 May 1968. But for others who
are missing, conclusions are not so easy to draw.
|
