Last updated: December 14, 2025
Person
Earls, Larry Don
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Significance:
101st Airborne Division, 502nd Infantry, Company C, 2d Battalion
Date of Birth:
February 6, 1938
Place of Death:
Kontum, Vietnam
Date of Death:
January 2, 1967
Place of Burial:
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Cemetery Name:
Stones River National Cemetery
Stories of Service and Sacrifice - First Lieutenant Larry Don Earls was born on February 6, 1938 and lived in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He graduated from Officer Candidate School on December 8, 1965 as an Infantry Officer. Earls was stationed in Fort Campbell, Kentucky before being sent to Vietnam on November 21, 1966 to serve in the Vietnam War in the 101st Airborne Division, 502nd Infantry, Company C, 2d Battalion and was a member of the Screaming Eagles. By the time he left for Vietnam, he had already been in the military for ten years.
Earls was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, the third-highest military combat decoration given for gallantry in action. The action in question was a battle when Earls’ platoon was significantly outnumbered by enemy combatants. Earls had placed his platoon in a defensive perimeter when the enemy attacked them three hours later, instantly killing six of Earls’ soldiers. Earls, who knew there was a chance that the enemy would overrun his platoon, ran through enemy fire to adjust his men. He moved to the various places where his men were, avoiding enemy fire and hand grenades, to help them. At times, hand grenades would land near him and his men, to which Earls would pick them up and throw them back towards the enemy. After he made all the adjustments needed, his platoon attacked the enemy, causing them to withdraw. Because of his courage, bravery, and knowledge, Earls was able to prevent more casualties from happening. The description of the award given to him says:
“Had it not been for Lieutenant Earls’ tremendous display of courage and professionalism in the face of a numerically superior enemy force many more casualties would have resulted. Lieutenant Earls’ outstanding display of gallantry in action and his avid devotion to duty are within the highest military traditions and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.”
Earls died on January 2, 1967 in the province of Kontum, Vietnam. He is honored on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. on panel 13E, line 108 and is buried at Stones River National Cemetery in plot Q-6733.