Honoring Our Sons on Veterans Day 2012: Larry Mullen

By Alexander Atkins
Editor and Designer of Our Town

Private First Class Larry Donald Mullen was born in 1950, the son of William Mullen and Dorothy Overall.

Mullen had a brother, Michael, and two sisters, Debbie and Heidi. Mullen attended Covington and Los Altos High School. He was on the varsity wrestling team, winning 10 gold medals in AAU competition, and played football on the junior varsity team. After graduation in 1968, the Mullen family moved to Ojai.

Mullen joined the Marines in October of 1968. Although he had been offered the opportunity to attend Officer Candidate School, he volunteered to go to Vietnam; he was deployed to Vietnam in April of 1969.

Mullen was killed by enemy fire while leading a Marine Corps patrol near Quang Tri on May 26. A service was held in Los Altos on June 6, 1969, and he was interred at the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno.

[Editor's note:  Larry Mullen's name is inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. that honors the men and women of the armed forces of the United States who served in the war and sacrificed their lives.

On this day, and all others, you can leave a remembrance to Larry Mullen on the The Wall-USA, a searchable website maintained by the 4th Battalion 9th Infantry Regiment]

You can read about the other sons of Los Altos Hills: Louis Gau, William Sigua, and Matthew Manoukian in the Veterans Day tribute produced in Our Town.

Our Town is a newsletter serving residents of the Town of Los Altos Hills, edited and designed by Alexander Atkins. This excerpt from the latest edition was reprinted with permission.