lest we forget

CHAPA, LORENZO JR.

Rank / Branch:

  • SERGEANT, U. S. ARMY

Date Of Birth:

  • 1948-05-17

Country Of Loss:

  • SOUTH VIETNAM

Status:

  • HOSTILE SMALL ARMS FIRE

Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground:​

  • GROUND

Other:

  • NOT MARRIED

Unit:

  • 101st AIRBORNE DIVISION

Date Of Loss:

  • 1969-10-26

Loss Coordinates:

  • THUA THIEN

Catagory:

  • BODY RETURNED

Awards & Decorations:

  • SEE BIO

VETERAN HAGI0GRAPHY

  • CHAPA, LORENZO, SERGEANT, U.S. ARMY, SAN ANGELO, TOM GREEN COUNTY, TEXAS

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

  • COMBAT INFANTRYMANS BADGE, BRONZE STAR WITH V DEVICE, PURPLE HEART, NATIONAL DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM CROSS OF GALLANTRY WITH PALM, VIETNAM CAMPAIGN MEDALombat Infantryman's Badge, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal

BIOGRAPHY

  • Lorenzo was born and raised in San Angelo, Texas. He was the youngest of eleven children Clara Ortega and Lorenzo Chapa, Sr. He was a member of the First Latin American Baptist Church of San Angelo. He attended San Angelo schools. He attended Edison Junior High School and in his freshman year he was the President of the Student Body. He attended San Angelo Central High School and was a member of the AFS, Science Club, Math and Gavel Club, Key Club, Spanish Club, Advisory Council and the Speedreading Club. He graduated from Central in 1967.
  • After high school, he worked for a while and he was drafted into the Army in February 1968. He completed basic training and AIT at Fort Polk, Louisiana and was selected to attend the NCO academy at Harmony Church, Fort Benning, Georgia. He completed the course as a member of the 82nd Company, Class 9-69 on November 26, 1968. He was promoted to Sergeant E-5 upon graduation. One of his classmates was Walter Bedford Lowe, Jr. of Garden City, Texas who also perished in Vietnam and is buried in San Angelo in the same cemetery as Lorenzo.
  • Lorenzo completed additional leadership schools at Fort Ord and Fort Polk and also completed jungle training. He began his tour in Vietnam on September 1, 1969. He was assigned as a squad leader with A Company, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He died in hostile action from small arms fire on October 26, 1969. He was a squad leader in a platoon size movement, and they were caught in an ambush. He had been in country less than 2 months.
  • He was buried with full military honors at the Fairmont Cemetery in San Angelo, Texas. He was survived his parents, his four brothers: Rodolfo, Pedro, Juan and George and by his sisters: Oliva, Elena, Yolinda, Elizabeth, Rebecca and Crestina.
  • Lorenzo is now joined by his parents, his mother in 1972, his father in 1977. Also, his brothers, Rudy in 2012, Pedro in 2017 and Johnny (Juan) in 2022; sisters Elena in 2019 and Idolinda in 2020.
  • SAN ANGELO CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL, 1966
  • SENIOR YEAR 1967 SAN ANGELO CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
  • FAIRMONT CEMETERY, SAN ANGELO