Top of page

Tony Lawless at time of service

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 282nd Assault Helicopter Company, 1st Cavalry Division
  • Location of Service: Vietnam; Fort Meade, Maryland
  • Highest Rank: Specialist Four
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/12041

View full service history

"If I decide to answer the question, I usually just say I was just a Doorgunner. But I was \\nreally a Crew Chief." (Memoir, page 1)

Tony Lawless's memoir of his service in Vietnam offers a detailed, no-holds-barred account of his one-year tour of duty that began in April 1970. His eyesight too weak to make pilot, Lawless first served as a door gunner on a helicopter that mainly flew supply and transport missions. Later, he flew with the 282nd Assault Helicopter Company on combat missions in both their Black Cats and Alley Cats units. Lawless wrote faithfully to a friend back home who kept his letters, and many of them are reproduced as part of his narrative. He describes his own drug and alcohol use, his boredom, fear, and the pain he felt when he urged his best friend to go on a mission which proved fatal.

[ Lawless in Vietnam: A Personal Accounting of My War ]

About this Item

Title

  • Tony Lawless Collection

Names

  • Lawless, Tony

Home State

  • Ohio

Headings

  • -  Lawless, Tony
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • White

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 282nd Assault Helicopter Company, 1st Cavalry Division
    • Location of Service: Vietnam; Fort Meade, Maryland
    • Highest Rank: Specialist Four
    • Dates of Service: 1969-1972
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2004-03)
  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Multiple types of electronic files (collected 2004-03; 2004-02-11)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/12041

Cite as

  • Tony Lawless Collection (AFC/2001/001/12041), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Additional Metadata Formats

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Service Unit

Highest Rank

Service Entrance

Discharge Status

Gender

Race

Home State

Interviewee

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Lawless, Tony. Tony Lawless Collection. 1969. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.12041/.

APA citation style:

Lawless, T. (1969) Tony Lawless Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.12041/.

MLA citation style:

Lawless, Tony. Tony Lawless Collection. 1969. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.12041/>.