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Lt. Lilly had graduated from the 4th Student Officer Company, Flight Class 70-22 (B-1), Fort Wolters, Texas. In Vietnam, he served with A Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division based at Phuoc Vinh, RVN. His tour began on 15 November 1970. He was lost during Lam Son 719, during a night mission in Cambodia. Crew: 1st Lt. Lawrence E. Lilly (P) (MIA/BNR), Capt. David P. Schweitzer (P) (Rescued)
On March 17, 1971, Capt. David P. Schweitzer, pilot and 1Lt. Lawrence E. Lilly, co-pilot, comprised the crew of an AH-1G helicopter (serial #69-17935) conducting a visual reconnaissance mission. As the aircraft was near a landing zone, it was hit by enemy fire of the F-21B Infantry Regiment, 5th Viet Cong Division and forced to the ground. The LZ was deep inside Cambodia in the Snuol District of Kracheh (Kratie) Province, near Seang Village.
Rescue efforts were successful in extracting Capt. Schweitzer, but due to heavy enemy fire, they were forced to leave the area before Lilly could be extracted. Lt. Lilly was last seen by U.S. personnel lying on his back with his shirt partially open and blood on his chest and neck. He was observed being fired upon by Viet Cong forces."
Source: https://www.pownetwork.org/bios/l/l376.htm Lt. Lilly remains MIA: He left a wife, Nancy, at his disappearance. They had married in Alexandria, Virginia in 14 June 1968. His father was Col. Bobby J. Lilly, USAF who passed in 2010.
This Soldier has an (IMO) In Memory Of Headstone in Arlington National Cemetery:
Vietnam War/Counteroffensive Phase VII Campaign (1970-71)/Operation Lam Son 719
From Month/Year
February / 1971
To Month/Year
March / 1971
Description Operation Lam Son 719 (Vietnamese: Chiến dịch Lam Sơn 719 or Chiến dịch đường 9 – Nam Lào) was a limited-objective offensive campaign conducted in southeastern portion of the Kingdom of Laos by the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) between 8 February and 25 March 1971, during the Vietnam War. The United States provided logistical, aerial, and artillery support to the operation, but its ground forces were prohibited by law from entering Laotian territory. The objective of the campaign was the disruption of a possible future offensive by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), whose logistical system within Laos was known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail (the Truong Son Road to North Vietnam).
By launching such a spoiling attack against PAVN's long-established logistical system, the American and South Vietnamese high commands hoped to resolve several pressing issues. A quick victory in Laos would bolster the morale and confidence of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), which was already high in the wake of the successful Cambodian Campaign of 1970. It would also serve as proof positive that South Vietnamese forces could defend their nation in the face of the continuing withdrawal of U.S. ground combat forces from the theater. The operation would be, therefore, a test of that policy and ARVN's capability to operate effectively by itself.
Because of the South Vietnamese need for security which precluded thorough planning, an inability by the political and military leaders of the U.S. and South Vietnam to face military realities, and poor execution, Operation Lam Son 719 collapsed when faced by the determined resistance of a skillful foe. The campaign was a disaster for the ARVN, decimating some of its best units and destroying the confidence that had been built up over the previous three years.
