He was the son of Erwin and Alice (Davidson) Becker. Lester grew up in Harvard and was a 1960 Harvard High School graduate. He was drafted into the United States Army in February 1964. He was based at Fort Benning, Georgia with the 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, which was experimenting with a new kind of airmobile warfare using helicopters to quickly move troops and equipment. President Johnson ordered the division to South Vietnam on July 28, 1965, as part of a continuing troop buildup. The division was the first to face off in a large-scale battle against the North Vietnamese in the Ia Drang Valley in November 1965. On November 17, several days into the fierce battle, Becker's 2nd Battalion marched from the newly secured Landing Zone X-Ray to Landing Zone Albany, about 2 miles to the northeast. The battalion was ambushed by North Vietnamese troops, and Becker, who was a radio operator during the movement, was shot twice in the stomach. Becker, 23, died from his wounds several days later. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart and is honored on the Vietnam Memorial Wall on Panel 03E - Line 118. Lester is buried here among many of his mother's family members, who came to McHenry County in the 1880's.
He was the son of Erwin and Alice (Davidson) Becker. Lester grew up in Harvard and was a 1960 Harvard High School graduate. He was drafted into the United States Army in February 1964. He was based at Fort Benning, Georgia with the 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, which was experimenting with a new kind of airmobile warfare using helicopters to quickly move troops and equipment. President Johnson ordered the division to South Vietnam on July 28, 1965, as part of a continuing troop buildup. The division was the first to face off in a large-scale battle against the North Vietnamese in the Ia Drang Valley in November 1965. On November 17, several days into the fierce battle, Becker's 2nd Battalion marched from the newly secured Landing Zone X-Ray to Landing Zone Albany, about 2 miles to the northeast. The battalion was ambushed by North Vietnamese troops, and Becker, who was a radio operator during the movement, was shot twice in the stomach. Becker, 23, died from his wounds several days later. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart and is honored on the Vietnam Memorial Wall on Panel 03E - Line 118. Lester is buried here among many of his mother's family members, who came to McHenry County in the 1880's.
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