Larry Delarnard Aiken
Specialist Four, U.S. Army

On 13 May 1969, Specialist Four Larry Delarnard Aiken was serving with 2nd Platoon, C Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry, 196th Infantry Brigade, Americal Division, in Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam.

On that day, SP4 Aiken was captured by the Vietcong as a Prisoner of War. He was rescued on 10 July 1969. On 25 July 1969, he died at the 91st Evacuation Hospital in Tuy Hoa, without ever regaining consciousness after his rescue. His injuries were believed to have been inflicted by the Vietcong just prior to his rescue.

Medals, Awards and Badges

Bronze Star Medal (Merit)
Purple Heart
Prisoner of War Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
Vietnam Campaign Medal
Combat Infantryman Badge

Honors

The name Larry D Aiken is located on Panel W20 Line 42 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

Burial

Specialist Four Larry Delarnard Aiken is buried at the Long Island National Cemetery in East Farmingdale, Suffolk County, NY, in Plot X, 3597.

Articles Concerning the Capture and Rescue

● Stars & Stripes 14 July 1969: Defector Shows the Way; Wounded GI Grabbed From Red Captors
By Specialist 5 Bill Elsen, S&S Staff Correspondent

SAIGON - A seriously injured American soldier held captive by the Communists since May has been rescued by U.S. and Vietnamese troops led by a Red defector, U.S. military spokesmen reported Saturday.

Spec. 4 Larry D. Aiken, 20, of Jamaica, N.Y., was found Thursday afternoon on a heavily camouflaged North Vietnamese Army hospital complex 17 miles southwest of Tam Ky.

Aiken was listed in "very serious" condition Saturday at the 312th Evacuation Hospital in Chu Lai where he is being treated for a skull fracture and brain damage.

He has not regained consciousness since his injuries were inflicted "just prior" to his rescue, spokesmen said.

Aiken's whereabouts was learned from a Communist soldier who defected to the Vietnamese 2nd Div., spokesmen said. The rescue force was formed of government reconnaissance units and a Regional Force company, troops of the U.S. Americal Div. and helicopters of the 101st Airborne Div.

U.S. artillery blasted open a landing zone in the thick jungle with 105mm and 155mm howitzers, and the ground assault led by the defector found the hospital complex about 1,500 yards away.

Six North Vietnamese troops were killed and two captured during the operation, although there was no enemy resistance at the landing zone or the hospital. One of the Reds was captured inside the complex.

"The area included about 10 to 15 huts with a massive underground tunnel network." said 1st Lt. William E. Colvin, an Americal Div. artillery forward observer with the Vietnamese. "It was naturally camouflaged by tall, thick, bush trees and was impossible to see from the air."

Aiken was first spotted by ARVN units which had moved about 300 yards up a stream bed. He lay on the ground and was wearing an American poncho liner and fatigue shirt. He was quickly moved to a makeshift stretcher and carried into the complex.

A UH1 helicopter piloted by Maj. Gary F. Dolan of the 101st Div.'s 2nd Sq., 17th Cav., was summoned and hovered above the trees while an ARVN volunteer was lowered to the ground in a yoke attached to the chopper.

PFC. Robert Bohler of Austin, Tex., the helicopter door gunner, repelled down another rope. Together, the two men eased Aiken into the rig and up into the chopper. He was flown immediately to the 312th Hospital at Americal Div. headquarters 18 miles away.

Throughout the rescue operation, U.S. Air Force planes circled overhead in case of enemy resistance.

Aiken who entered the Army in June 1968 and arrived in Vietnam last Nov. 9, was taken prisoner during a vicious May 13 battle for control of Nui Yon Hill three miles southwest of Tam Ky.

His unit, the 2nd Platoon of the Americal's C Co., 3rd Bn., 21st Inf. engaged an estimated NVA company on a search-and-clear mission while Aiken and five other men were providing security in rice paddy.

The NVA were eventually routed by Americal and 2nd Div. forces but Aiken, last seen moving unwounded by his platoon leader, was listed as missing in action.

● Stars & Stripes 19 July 1969: NVA Beat, Hurt GI
By Specialist 4 Ron Minnix, S&S Staff Correspondent

SAIGON - A wounded American prisoner held captive by the North Vietnamese may have been clubbed to near death rather than allowed to fall into the hands of rescuers, according to reliable sources.

Spec. 4 Larry D. Aiken rescued from Communist troops July 10 after being held prisoner for two months, remained in very serious condition Thursday.

He had not regained consciousness at the 91st Evac. Hospital in Chu Lai seven days after his rescue.

Stars and Stripes correspondent Bill Elsen reported Thursday from Chu Lai that knowledgeable sources now believe Aiken was struck in the head with a rifle butt when - because of a previously broken leg - he was unable to travel. He was apparently clubbed repeatedly, shattering the skull and sending bone fragments into the brain.

Communist guards watching Aiken realized that Allied forces would soon discover their hideout and before fleeing hit Aiken over the head to kill him, rather than tipping off their location with a gunshot, sources speculated.

● Stars & Stripes 28 July 1969: Rescued Prisoner of NVA Dies While Still in Coma
By Specialist 5 Bill Elsen, S&S Staff Correspondent

CHU LAI - Spec. 4 Larry D. Aiken, rescued July 10 after two months as a North Vietnamese Army prisoner, died here Friday afternoon at the 91st Evac. Hospital without regaining consciousness since his rescue.

Reported missing in action by his unit after a firefight May 13, Aiken was plucked out of a NVA hospital complex 17 miles southwest of Tam Ky and brought here with an open skull fracture and brain damage.

Informed sources reported that Aiken had been hit on the head with a rifle butt "just prior" to his rescue by a team of Vietnamese and American soldiers.>

Aiken, unable to travel quickly because of two broken bones in one leg, had been apparently clubbed and left for dead when his captors fled the rescue forces.