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<em>Lawrence Michael Malone</em> was born into the Army on 4 May 1936 in Los Angeles, California. Larry was the son of Lieutenant Colonel Edward Malone and his wife, Carolyn. Larry and his sister Sharon grew up moving from post to post in California, Seattle, and finally, Alaska, where he graduated from Anchorage High School in 1954. Along the way, he enthusiastically participated in Boy Scouts and was proud of being an Eagle Scout.</p>
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Larry entered West Point directly from high school. He brought with him a light heart, good humor, and a marvelous bass voice that he used with joy and gusto in the Cadet Glee Club and the <em>Hundredth Night Show</em>.</p>
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Larry completed the Basic Infantry Officers’ Course, Ranger, and Airborne Schools in 1958 and was assigned to Baumholder, Germany. His platoon in Company A, 1st Battle Group, 16th Infantry in the 8th Division was always one of the best in training tests and field exercises. There he earned not only the Expert Infantry Badge but also the love and respect of his troops. One example explains why. In late April of 1959. Larry’s platoon was returning from an alert when they saw a float comprising a large white rocket decorated with a red hammer and sickle and the words “Vorsicht Americaner!” (Watch out Americans!) almost ready for the local area’s May Day parade. The float mysteriously disappeared, on the eve of the parade, and brought about a near-crisis in local German-American relations. The division commander assembled all company commanders on Saturday, the day prior to the parade, and all reported solemnly that they had inspected their barracks and day rooms and found nothing related to the errant missile. The consternation of Larry’s company commander was palpable the following Monday when, during his inspection of the weapons room, he found a 15 foot white and red paper-Mache rocket concealed under the mortars. Larry’s response to the thunderstruck captain’s demand for an explanation as to why the object was in the arms room was a characteristic guileless “Gee sir, the day room was locked.” Larry’s platoon spent the next week spiriting out bits of paper-Mache and depositing them in dumpsters throughout the post.</p>
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In 1960 he was assigned to Madrid as aide-de-camp to the Chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group. He enjoyed Spain and the job immensely and was one of the few Americans to be awarded Spanish jump wings because qualification included packing one’s own parachute. His next assignment was to Vietnam in 1963-64 as an advisor to the Vietnamese Army. On his return, he married the young lady whom he had been courting for seven years, Joyce Maley. The wedding took place on 28 November 1964 at the Presidio of San Francisco.</p>
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The three and one-half years between Vietnam assignments were wonderful for Larry and Joyce. Larry assumed his duties as ROTC instructor at Georgetown University with immense enthusiasm, a booming laugh and a great fondness for his cadets. Although they had no children of their own, those in the neighborhood often knocked at their door and asked if “Major Malone could come out and play.” Larry’s concern for the well-being of his troops included his ROTC cadets, and he quickly won the respect, and some would say even adoration, of the ROTC students and faculty. His stories about Vietnam captivated his Georgetown audiences. He told them not just to entertain, though indeed they did, but to make points that could later save their lives and those of their men.</p>
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He couldn’t stand red tape and had no use for those officers who wouldn’t get down in the mud with their troops. He also was deeply concerned over what he viewed as poor training to prepare the soldiers being sent to Vietnam. One answer was to establish a ranger company for his Georgetown ROTC cadets so these fortunate young men underwent tough, Malone-type training. Georgetown honored Larry’s memory by naming the company for Larry when he was killed in action. While at the University, Larry was asked by his students to become a member of the Foreign Service School’s fraternity, a rare honor for an ROTC instructor.</p>
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Larry had a burning desire to be where the action was. There was an almost quixotic element in his nature which compelled him to do the right thing, the consequences notwithstanding. Although he kidded a classmate who had just returned from combat with the 1st Cavalry Division about “useless search and destroy American tactics,” it was obvious that he was drawn to return to the sound of the guns. The attraction was not that he liked war, but that duty called him. Leaving for his second tour in Vietnam was not easy, and he confided to a classmate that separation from his bride Joyce would he especially difficult.</p>
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Ironically, Larry asked to be assigned to the aforementioned 1st Cavalry Division when he arrived in Vietnam. He was given the job of G-3 operations officer at the division’s forward headquarters. Not content in the staff job, Larry fought to join a battalion. He was successful and was made the operations officer of the First Battalion, 12th Infantry (Airborne) in early January 1968. Within days of joining the battalion, he was shot down along with his commander while directing the unit’s fierce action in a helicopter over the Que Son Valley. Although originally reported as captured, Larry’s body was found in a nearby village a few days after the crash. Proudly carrying on his family’s tradition of service, he gave his life for his country. He was awarded the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with two Oak Leaf Clusters, one for valor, and the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster.</p>
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Larry lived by the ideals of West Point. Always close to his God, he won the admiration and respect of all whose lives he touched. His life was short but exemplary. A soldier’s soldier, he lived up to his own high ideals.</p>
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Well done, Larry. Be thou at peace.</p>
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<em>Prepared by classmates, friends, and loved ones</em></p>