The Wall › Panel 13W › Tennessee › Larry William Cotten
LARRY WILLIAM COTTEN
First Lieutenant · U.S. Air Force
March 19, 1945 – March 9, 1970
Service recordLarry William Cotten, of Nashville, Tennessee, served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. He died on March 9, 1970, in Laos, at age 24. His name is inscribed on Panel 13W, Line 99 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 13W · Line 99
Names are inscribed in the order of loss, starting at Panel 1E at the apex and ending at Panel 1W. At the Memorial, find the panel number at the base and count down from the top line.
Remember
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Service
- Branch
- U.S. Air Force
- Rank
- First Lieutenant (1STLT)
- Service
- Reserve / National Guard
- Unit (as recorded)
- 4 TFG SQ
- Born
- March 19, 1945
- Home of record
- Nashville, Tennessee (Davidson County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- March 9, 1970
- Age
- 24
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
18 names on the Wall carry the date March 9, 1970. In March 1970, 625 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “4 TFG SQ”, his unit in the record, lost 2 of its members that month.
He died in Laos while the air war over Laos was under way. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. aircraft bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail and supported the war in northern Laos; many of the Americans lost over Laos were never recovered.
His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 13W, Line 99
- GEORGE ARTHUR BAMFORDSpecialist Four · March 9, 1970
- RICHARD ALLEN BRUECKSpecialist Four · March 9, 1970
- PHILLIP LESLIE CLARKSpecialist Four · March 9, 1970
- JOHN LYNWOOD FORTNERWarrant Officer 1 · March 9, 1970
Same unit, same day
- LOTHAR GUSTAV T TERLACaptain · Panel 13W, Line 101
From Nashville
- ALVIN G PARKERPrivate First Class · February 7, 1965
- DALLAS LAWSONPrivate First Class · February 10, 1965
- THOMAS C MCEWEN JRCaptain · February 24, 1965
- VARIS SAVAGE JRSergeant · November 6, 1965
- JOHN EDWARD FUQUASecond Lieutenant · January 31, 1966
- JOE KENNETH TAYLORSpecialist Four · February 22, 1966
- CLARENCE MITCHELLSergeant · February 26, 1966
- DENNIS EDWARD HOLTPrivate · March 30, 1966
- ROGER DALE JARRELLPrivate First Class · April 3, 1966
- JASPER LEE KEENSergeant · May 19, 1966
Source. U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Casualty Analysis System, Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File (as of April 29, 2008), Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Record Group 330, National Archives (NAID 2240992). Panel and line as recorded in that file. This page presents the official record and its historical context; no biography has been written for him yet. See something wrong? Report a correction.