Lyell Francis King
Cullum No. 23093
Hostile death, Vietnam, 18 February 1966.
Aged 27 years.
Interment: Greenfield Cemetery,  Hempstead, Long Island, New York

The thoughts of others
 Were light and fleeting,
     Of Lovers’ meeting
     Or luck or fame;
Mine were of trouble
     And mine were steady,
     So I was ready
     When trouble came.

Lyell King, true to his favorite lines from A.E. Housman, was ready “when trouble came.”  He had already proven himself a skillful and courageous advisor to the Vietnamese 22d Ranger Battalion when he was killed in action near Ban Me Thout on the 18th of February, 1966.  His conduct on the day of his death and during five major battles in the preceding months earned for him the undying admiration of his comrades in arms and the gratitude and commendation of his country, which awarded him the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart.  A grateful Vietnamese government also awarded him, posthumously, that country’s National Order, Fifth Class, and the Gallantry Cross with Palm.

 Lyell was born on 12 May 1938 in Coquille, Oregon.  The eldest son of a career officer, he spent his boyhood in many states and several countries, as the family followed the elder King from station to station.  Early in life Lyell acquired a fascination with all things military, and long before he graduated from high school he was full of martial lore, sharing, for example, his father’s great interest in and broad knowledge of weapons.

 With this background, reinforced by the reputation of a great-grandfather who won the Congressional Medal of Honor in the Civil War, it was natural and fitting that Lyell should also choose to pursue a military career.  He had wanted to be a soldier for “as long as he could remember.”  While he was still a senior at Kirkwood High School in Kirkwood, Missouri, Lyell applied for admission to West Point – and it was his only application – and received a presidential appointment to the Class of 1960.

 Lyell obviously enjoyed his four years at the Academy; his boyish grin and warm sense of humor never failed to lighten the hearts of his classmates when the going got rough.  Notwithstanding his quiet and personable manner, however, those who were close to Lyell knew him for a man of uncommon dedication and strength of character.  He came to West Point with a strong sense of purpose, and while there he applied himself diligently to the dual tasks of acquiring knowledge and learning how to lead men.
 With a commission in the Infantry and newly married to the lovely Judith Anne Van Rees, Lyell paused at Fort Benning only long enough to attend the basic course and win his “jump wings” and Ranger “tab” before reporting to his first duty station, Fort Davis, in the Panama Canal Zone.  At Fort Davis, and later at Forts Sherman and Gulick, he excelled in the role of a small unit commander and won several accolades for his work as an instructor at the Jungle Warfare Training Center.  While in Panama, Judi presented him with a daughter, Jennifer Stilson, who was to share with her mother Lyell’s unqualified and unconcealed devotion.

 Departing Panama in early 1964, Lyell reported to Fort Lewis, Washington, where a brief but distinguished period of duty on the staff of the 4th Division’s 1st Brigade earned him his first command: Company A, 2d Battalion, 8th Infantry.  As the commander of the neighboring unit, I had ample opportunity for admiring Lyell’s expertise.  His was a first-class unit – polished and precise in garrison, aggressive and efficient in the field, and at all times loyal and devoted to its commander.  There was no doubt in the minds of those who saw him operate at Fort Lewis that they were witnessing a real professional with a tremendous future – a man destined to wear stars.
 When orders came from Vietnam, Lyell was ready.  He took Judy and Jenny to Monterey with him while he attended the 12-week course in Vietnamese, graduated first in his class, and then flew westward “toward the sound of the guns.”  The assignment with the 22d Ranger Battalion was one of the most dangerous in Vietnam, but it virtually guaranteed plenty of action with some of the Republic’s best troops, so Lyell considered it a prize to be sought.  He got the job at his own request.  Once in the field with the battalion, he was in his element, for he knew he was learning those lessons one doesn’t find in books.  Moreover, he was facing daily those challenges and responsibilities toward which his years of preparation and training had been directed.  It was the ultimate test of the professional soldier; Lyell knew he would not be found wanting. 

 Lyell King was a warm and lovable person, but he was also a man with a goal, one whose course in life had been as unerring as a taut bowstring.  He was one of those rare individuals who combine a true nobility of character with, in the words of Douglas MacArthur, “ a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of an appetite for adventure over love of ease.”  He leaves behind, in the hearts of his family and friends, a love and respect which words can scarcely convey. 

       -Robert E. Montgomery Jr.
        Captain