Specialist 4th Class Larry G. Dahl (Vietnam) is a Notable burial at https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/willamette.asp. He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in the U.S. Army, 359th Transportation Company, U.S. Support Command, in recognition of courageous disregard for personal safety that saved the lives of fellow soldiers at the cost of his own at An Khe, Binh Dinh Province, Republic of Vietnam, February 23, 1971.  Dahl joined the Army from Portland, Oregon in 1969, and by February 23, 1971, was serving as a Specialist Four in the 359th Transportation Company, 27th Transportation Battalion, U.S. Army Support Command. He along with Richard Bond, Ronald Mallory and Charles Huser had become friends with the crew of the gun truck, Brutus, and helped clean the truck every time it came off the road. The current crew said that if anything happened to them, they wanted those four men to take their place. On November 21, 1970, Brutus was hit by either rockets or mortars killing Jimmy Ray Callison and wounding William Kagel & Ernest Quintana. The gun truck was turned over to their good friends who cleaned it up and repainted it - they wanted the enemy to see no signs of damage.

On February 23, 1971, two fuel convoys headed west on QL 19 from Qui Nhon. Richard Bond had the day off and SGT Hector Diaz had taken his place as the NCOIC of Brutus. The lead fuel convoy escorted by gun trucks of the 545th Transportation Company was ambushed as it crossed over the top of An Khe Pass by a significantly large enemy force. The 359th convoy at the bottom of the pass halted and the gun trucks asked if the lead convoy needed help. So Brutus, The Untouchable, The Misfits and gun jeep Li'l Brutus raced up the mountain pass into the kill zone in that order. The ambush had probably been going on for over 30 minutes when the gun truck crews in the lead convoy heard the mini-gun of Brutus firing as it came around the bend. Morale significantly improved. Ron Mallory pulled Brutus right up next to a burning fuel tanker as was their policy. The fight continued for about another 15 minutes before it then died down.

Thinking it was over, Brutus and The Misfits decided to turn around and head back to their convoy. As Ron Mallory backed his truck up to turn around, three or four enemy soldiers attacked it and tossed a hand grenade in the gun box. Larry Dahl saw it first and without any regard for his own safety threw his body on it to protect his buddies. The resulting explosion killed him and wounded Diaz and Huser. Mallory raced his truck to the safety of the nearest check point to get his crew medevaced. Vietnam gun truck veterans cite Dahl's ultimate sacrifice as evidence of the strong bond among gun truck crews.  https://transportation.army.mil/history/dahl.html.
*The preceding content is not intended as a comprehensive biography, but it highlights their significance as a result of military or civilian distinction, lasting achievements, or association with impactful national events. 

Willamette National Cemetery

Someone for your Veteran of the day. 
I was visiting the Vietnam Wall in Perryville, Missouri and noticed a man whom seemed a little distressed and I spoke to his wife who told me he was looking for an individual and hadn’t been able to locate him. I helped locate our fallen comrade and showed her the mobile app for the wall and how I located Sp4 Larry Dahl. The husband was starting to become emotional so I left them. Afterwards I read about Larry and about how he saved his fellow comrades and being awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. A very humbling experience. Thanks for allowing me to place this.  
USMC vet 1969-1971

LARRY G DAHL

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