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DYING FOR FREEDOM ISN'T THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN....BEING FORGOTTEN IS !
Susie (Ragan) Stephens MIA USASF 67 VN
State & Region 1 Coordinator
National League of Families for POW/MIAs
President, GA Committee for POW/MIAs Inc.
Retired Adm. William P. Lawrence dies at 75
Nashville-born jet pilot regarded as hero, scholar
By NATALIA MIELCZAREK
Staff Writer
Navy Adm. William P. Lawrence, 75, a Nashville native who spent nearly six years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam and received numerous military honors, died at his home in Annapolis, Md., on Friday night.
From playing all-state basketball and football and baseball at West High School here, graduating at the top of his class from the U.S. Naval Academy to living through what he described as "a very difficult period in my captivity" in Vietnam, Adm. Lawrence's military career spanned three decades.
"My father was very proud to be a Nashvillian and attributed his successes in life to the strong foundation he gained from his childhood here in Nashville," said Laurie Lawrence, one of Adm. Lawrence's three children.
"He did have a great sense of humor. During his inauguration to the Metro Nashville School Hall of Fame, he joked that the rigors of summer football practice here in Nashville prepared him for his POW captivity in Vietnam."
Adm. Lawrence, who was a jet pilot, had a stroke in 1995 and had since been ill, Laurie Lawrence, of Nashville, said.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete last night, but his daughter said Adm. Lawrence would be buried at the Naval Academy in Annapolis.
While he was commanding officer of Fighter Squadron 143, Adm. Lawrence was shot down in North Vietnam in June 1967 and held as prisoner of war until March 1973. During his captivity he met John McCain, who was also a prisoner of war. McCain, now a U.S. senator from Arizona, later introduced Adm. Lawrence to his future wife, Diane.
After his release from captivity, Adm. Lawrence was honored on March 14, 1973, with "Bill Lawrence Day" in Nashville. At that time, he was welcomed back home as a war hero.
"As a son of Tennessee … I have a blood-sealed obligation and duty to protect the system and the way of life which has nurtured me, even if called upon to lay down my life, as many brave Tennesseans have done before me," Adm. Lawrence told the crowd that day.
"So, what I have done during the Vietnam War is certainly no less than any loyal son of Tennessee would have done under similar circumstances."
Adm. Lawrence was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his leadership of fellow POWs while in captivity. In 1983, he became the deputy chief of naval operations and chief of naval personnel in charge of formulating and executing Navy policies on personnel and training matters.
After he retired from active duty in 1986, Adm. Lawrence held the Chair of Naval Leadership at the Naval Academy until 1994 and served as president of the Association of Naval Aviation from 1991 to 1994.
He was also a visiting scholar at the John Seigenthaler Freedom Forum First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University, studying the relationship between the news media and the military.
"He was not just a hero, but he was an articulate and persuasive spokesman for military service because he downplayed his heroism, as real patriots do, and spoke more about the need for the military to sustain its values," said John Seigenthaler, founder of the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center and chairman emeritus of The Tennessean.
"He was a big supporter of military as responsive to civilian commander in chief and civilian leadership. He was a wonderful human being, and he was just very, very bright," added Seigenthaler, who considered Adm. Lawrence a very good friend.
Aside from being a military man, Adm. Lawrence was also an exemplary father who taught his children countless lessons until the very end of his life, Laurie Lawrence said.
"I think the most important lesson I learned from my father was to never give up, even when things got tough," she said. "He continued to live by that motto, even after suffering from a severe stroke. …
"We were told by his physicians that he would not survive. After he proved them wrong — we were told he would not walk — he began walking within several weeks. He was quite disabled by the stroke and literally got through the last 10 years by gritting his teeth and willing himself to keep going."
Susie (Ragan) Stephens MIA USASF 67 VN
State & Region 1 Coordinator
National League of Families for POW/MIAs
President, GA Committee for POW/MIAs Inc.
Retired Adm. William P. Lawrence dies at 75
Nashville-born jet pilot regarded as hero, scholar
By NATALIA MIELCZAREK
Staff Writer
Navy Adm. William P. Lawrence, 75, a Nashville native who spent nearly six years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam and received numerous military honors, died at his home in Annapolis, Md., on Friday night.
From playing all-state basketball and football and baseball at West High School here, graduating at the top of his class from the U.S. Naval Academy to living through what he described as "a very difficult period in my captivity" in Vietnam, Adm. Lawrence's military career spanned three decades.
"My father was very proud to be a Nashvillian and attributed his successes in life to the strong foundation he gained from his childhood here in Nashville," said Laurie Lawrence, one of Adm. Lawrence's three children.
"He did have a great sense of humor. During his inauguration to the Metro Nashville School Hall of Fame, he joked that the rigors of summer football practice here in Nashville prepared him for his POW captivity in Vietnam."
Adm. Lawrence, who was a jet pilot, had a stroke in 1995 and had since been ill, Laurie Lawrence, of Nashville, said.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete last night, but his daughter said Adm. Lawrence would be buried at the Naval Academy in Annapolis.
While he was commanding officer of Fighter Squadron 143, Adm. Lawrence was shot down in North Vietnam in June 1967 and held as prisoner of war until March 1973. During his captivity he met John McCain, who was also a prisoner of war. McCain, now a U.S. senator from Arizona, later introduced Adm. Lawrence to his future wife, Diane.
After his release from captivity, Adm. Lawrence was honored on March 14, 1973, with "Bill Lawrence Day" in Nashville. At that time, he was welcomed back home as a war hero.
"As a son of Tennessee … I have a blood-sealed obligation and duty to protect the system and the way of life which has nurtured me, even if called upon to lay down my life, as many brave Tennesseans have done before me," Adm. Lawrence told the crowd that day.
"So, what I have done during the Vietnam War is certainly no less than any loyal son of Tennessee would have done under similar circumstances."
Adm. Lawrence was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his leadership of fellow POWs while in captivity. In 1983, he became the deputy chief of naval operations and chief of naval personnel in charge of formulating and executing Navy policies on personnel and training matters.
After he retired from active duty in 1986, Adm. Lawrence held the Chair of Naval Leadership at the Naval Academy until 1994 and served as president of the Association of Naval Aviation from 1991 to 1994.
He was also a visiting scholar at the John Seigenthaler Freedom Forum First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University, studying the relationship between the news media and the military.
"He was not just a hero, but he was an articulate and persuasive spokesman for military service because he downplayed his heroism, as real patriots do, and spoke more about the need for the military to sustain its values," said John Seigenthaler, founder of the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center and chairman emeritus of The Tennessean.
"He was a big supporter of military as responsive to civilian commander in chief and civilian leadership. He was a wonderful human being, and he was just very, very bright," added Seigenthaler, who considered Adm. Lawrence a very good friend.
Aside from being a military man, Adm. Lawrence was also an exemplary father who taught his children countless lessons until the very end of his life, Laurie Lawrence said.
"I think the most important lesson I learned from my father was to never give up, even when things got tough," she said. "He continued to live by that motto, even after suffering from a severe stroke. …
"We were told by his physicians that he would not survive. After he proved them wrong — we were told he would not walk — he began walking within several weeks. He was quite disabled by the stroke and literally got through the last 10 years by gritting his teeth and willing himself to keep going."
