Funeral Service Scheduled for Mattoon Man Killed in Vietnam War

Funeral services will be held next week for a Mattoon man who was killed in the Vietnam War.

Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 James "Larry" Phipps was a pilot of a Huey helicopter gunship that was shot down in Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam. The incident occurred on January 9, 1968. A search of the crash site in 2011 has led to the recovery of sufficient remains to warrant closing the case. Phipps' status had been changed from Missing In Action to Presumed Dead in 1976.

Phipps was a 1962 graduate of Mattoon High School. His sister and other surviving family members will go to Washington, DC for a full burial ceremony. The ceremony is scheduled for June 17 at Arlington National Cemetery. Phipps and the other helicopter crew members, excluding a crew member whose remains were located in the days after the crash, will be buried under the same headstone.