Rank: Specialist 4
Unit: L Troop, 3rd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
MOS: 11D – Armor Reconnaissance Specialist
Awards: Bronze Star Medal with Valor Device, Purple Heart Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Badges: Combat Infantryman Badge
Unit awards: Valorous Unit Award, Meritorious Unit Citation, Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm device
Note: Track L-66
Enlisted by: Selected Service
Date of birth: 14-Aug-1945
Hometown: Everett, Washington
Marital status: Never Married
Campaign: Vietnam Conflict
Entered service: 15-Nov-1965
Start of tour: 23-Aug-1966
Incident date: 21-Jul-1967
Date of casualty: 21-Jul-1967
Age at death: 21
Cause of death: Hostile, Died. Grenade. Multiple fragmentation wounds.
Lawrence Michael Dawson died as a result of a metal fragment wound received while a passenger in a military convoy.
Fourteen Blackhorse troopers died in this incident:
CPT William Forman Abernethy
PFC James Francis Bean
PFC John Joseph Campa
PFC Roosevelt C. Curley
SP4 Lawrence Michael Dawson
PFC George Arthur Foster
PVT Thomas Francis Ganion
PFC Douglas Wayne Hill
PFC Frank Daniel Leal
PFC Gary Alfred McLennan
PFC Billy Gene Rodgers
SP4 Richard James Schutz
1LT Ponder Ray Sims
PFC James Lemar Whitfield
Location of fatality: Long Khanh, South Vietnam, YT 430 308
Place of interment: Evergreen Cemetery, Everett, Washington, USA
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BRONZE STAR MEDAL
WITH VALOR DEVICE
POSTHUMOUS
SPECIALIST FOUR LAWRENCE MICHAEL DAWSONS
21 JULY 1967
L TROOP, 3rd SQUADRON
11TH ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMENT
Specialist Four Dawson distinguished himself by valorous actions on 21 July 1967 while serving as a machine gunner on an Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle participating in a convoy along Highway 20. On this date, the armored column was attacked by a numerically superior Viet Cong force armed with recoilless rifles, automatic and semi-automatic weapons. Immediately reacting to the critical situation Specialist Dawson directed a highly effective volley of suppressive fire upon the entrenched enemy. Skillfully detecting several Viet Cong positions set up close to the road, Specialist Dawson exposed himself to the enemy and accurately hurled fragmentation grenades while simultaneously delivering a devastating barrage of machine gun fire upon the enemy. The intense fire of the enemy mortally wounded the other crew members of the Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle, leaving only Specialist Dawson and the driver to fight the advancing Viet Cong. Using his personal weapon, Specialist Dawson resisted the advancing Viet Cong until mortally wounded by fire from the fanatical insurgents. Throughout the fierce engagement, Specialist Dawson’s staunch courage and dedication to duty contributed significantly to repelling the enemy and minimizing the friendly casualties. Specialist Four Dawson’s personal bravery and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
Headquarters, 9th Infantry Division General Orders No. 3878 (5 August 1967)