SEPTEMBER 24, 2025 – Actor Larry Wilcox, best known for his leading role as a California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer and later as a captain in the TV series CHiPs, which aired from 1977 to 1983, was also a Marine Corps combat veteran.
In May 1967, Wilcox went to boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.
He served as a field artilleryman assigned to 2nd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, from 1967 to 1970.
Those years included a 13-month deployment to South Vietnam, where he served in the northernmost region of the country, in places such as Dong Ha, Con Thien and the demilitarized zone bordering North Vietnam.
Also, he fought in the Tet Offensive, which started Jan. 30, 1968, and lasted until September 1968.
Like many Vietnam War veterans, Wilcox’s homecoming was not joyous.
“My memories of my returning home to San Francisco were ugly, and I did not understand why people spat on you for risking your life,” he said, referring to people at the airport.
During his final year of military service, he was stationed at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California, where he was honorably discharged as a staff sergeant in 1973.
Wilcox, born Aug. 8, 1947, in San Diego, still lives there.
His older brother, Randy, also served in the Marine Corps, including during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.
By David Vergun, Pentagon News