William E Lawson Jr.

William E. Lawson Jr.

H&S Battery 4/42 Artillery

4th Infantry Division

KIA 04/20/1967

PERSONAL DATA
Home of Record: Royal Oak, MI
Date of birth: 12/01/1938

MILITARY DATA
Service: Army of the United States
Grade at loss: O2
Rank: First Lieutenant
MOS: 1193: Field Artillery Unit Commander
Length Service: 06
Unit: HQ & SVC BTRY, 4TH BN, 42ND ARTILLERY, 4TH INF DIV, USARV

CASUALTY DATA
Start Tour: 07/23/1966
Incident Date: 04/20/1967
Casualty Date: 04/20/1967
Age at Loss: 28
Location: Pleiku Province, South Vietnam
Remains: Body recovered
Casualty Type: Hostile, died outright
Casualty Reason: Ground casualty
Casualty Detail: Gun or small arms fire

Panel 18E Line 053

William E Lawson Jr., from Royal Oak, Michigan, H&S Bttry, 4-42nd FA, was KIA 20 Apr 1967
while assigned as a Forward Observer with the 3rd Armored Cav (ARVN).
He was a passenger on an armored personnel carrier in a convoy when the convoy was ambushed.

William E. Lawson Jr.'s decorations

1LT Lawson served with Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 4th Battalion, 42nd Artillery, 4th Infantry Division. He was attached to the 3rd ARVN Cavalry
as a Forward Observer on an operation in the Ia Drang Valley and was killed when his tank was hit by a rocket propelled grenade (RPG).

Posted by Randy Dunham

From the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund website

Bill Lawson was my OCS classmate and fellow member of the 4th ID at Ft. Lewis and Vietnam. He was a funny guy in OCS who cracked up the other members
of our platoon in Artillery OCS Class 3-66 at Fort Sill. We were together from Sept. 1965 to Feb. 1966. I think his wife used to bring his polished boots
and brass to him after dark in the OCS back parking lot, that's because he was a former NCO who knew how to make the system work! He was a great teacher
to the majority of us in OCS who hadn't been in the Army very long. I saw him in his quarters at Ft. Lewis. I think he had two young children who he loved very much.
In Vietnam he was sent on a temporary patrol in the Ia Drang valley with the ARVN Cav. I was supposed to replace him two days before the end of the patrol,
but he elected to stay the last couple of days with the patrol because he knew the terrain and the troops. The second to last day of the patrol he was killed in an ambush.
It was a loss felt thoughout the division headquarters. I tell his story to high school classes I teach as they learn about Vietnam. I cry every time. I take student groups
to Washington every spring. When we approach The Wall I stand on a park bench and tell them about Bill Lawson. Many of them have taken rubbings of his name.
His dedication and selfless service are remembered by hundreds of American school children every year and Bill Lawson is a soldier
who means patriotism and devotion to them.

Posted by: Dean Phillips

From the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund website

Bill Lawson in Vietnam may 1967

A TRIBUTE TO A FALLEN OCS COMRADE AND FRIEND
BILL, HERE I AM AT FT SILL OKLAHOMA WHERE WE ALL WERE BAPTISED FIELD ARTILLERY AND MEMBERS
OF THE OFFICER'S CORPS. I CAN STILL SEE YOUR DEVILISH GRIN TURNING INTO A BIG SMILE AS YOU
WOULD GREET OLD FRIENDS. "MAGIC BILL" WE USE TO CALL YOU BECAUSE YOU COULD ALWAYS COME
UP WITH AN EASIER WAY TO DO A SWEAT DETAIL AT OCS. I REMEMBER IN VIET NAM WHEN YOU SENT
OUT THE DONUT DOLLY TO MY FIRE SUPPORT BASE ON MY BIRTHDAY. SHE BROUGHT A BIG CAKE AND
ICE CREAM (A REAL TREAT) AND SHE ENTERTAINED ALL THE TROOPS TOO. THEY REALLY THOUGHT I
WAS SOMEBODY TO RATE SUCH A BIRTHDAY. I REMEMBER HEARING THE MORTOR ROUNDS AND THE
ARTILLERY ROUNDS WHEN YOU FOUGHT YOUR LAST BATTLE 14 CLICKS SOUTH OF OUR LOCATION. I
HEARD YOUR LAST FIRE MISSION AND CRIED WHEN ALL WENT SILENT. WE RUSHED TO YOUR LOCATION
IN THE EARLY MORNING BUT YOU AND YOUR BRAVE COMRADS WERE ALL DEAD. I HELPED ID YOU AND
MY FORMER BRAVE RECON SGT AND CRIED MORE. I FINALLY VISITED THE WALL AND TOUCHED YOUR
NAME AND ALL THESE MEMORIES FLOWED THROUGH ME. REST WELL.YOU AND YOUR BRAVE DEEDS
ARE NOT FORGOTTEN NOR IS YOUR SACRIFICE.

YOUR CLASSMATE OF 3-66 FA OCS

MAJ RET ROBERT T FLOCKOI, RADIO CALL SIGN "SNAGGLE TOOTH"

From the Artillery OCS Vietnam War Memorial

An article about LT William E. Lawson in Vietnam from the
The Tacoma News Tribune And Sunday Ledger
Sunday October 30, 1966

Burial:
Franklin Cemetery
Franklin
Oakland County
Michigan, USA

Grave marker for William E. Lawson

Photo by Twist from the Find A Grave website

Photo of William Lawson is his OCS graduation picture and is from Randy Dunham

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