Tennessee Patriot

by Lawrence, William P. , Rausa, Rosario

  “Admiral Lawrence,” he went on, “never retired, he never turned away from teaching through his words, and more importantly, he lived the most vital principle of leadership: Be first a person of honor.”

  The Honorable John S. McCain remembered with faltering voice Bill’s leadership as a fellow POW. “We witnessed a thousand acts of courage, compassion, and love, and the best of us was Billy Lawrence. He seemed to know that some of us weren’t as strong as he was, particularly when times were tough. He inspired us to do things we weren’t capable of doing, to go one more round with our captors, and he always led us with love.”

  On a bitter winter day we buried Bill on a gentle slope overlooking his beloved school. His journalist-friend, Frank Aukofer, wrote of the event: “On the hillside the throng prayed with the academy chaplain, listened to the mournful playing of Taps, heard the crack of honor guard rifles, and trembled to the crashes of a 15-gun cannon salute. Four Navy warplanes roared overhead in missing-man formation as tribute to a fallen warrior.”

  Dr. Seuss wrote, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” Now that I’ve lost Bill Lawrence after thirty-one years of marriage, those words are difficult for me to accept, but I know there’s value in the message. It will never be over between my husband and me. Our fair share of the golden years may have ended earlier than for many, but at least we had them. I am privileged to have shared the life of this treasured American patriot and undeniably wonderful man.

  May 2006

  INDEX

  A-3 Skywarrior, 85, 106

  A-4 Skyhawk, 100, 103, 167

  A-6 Intruder, 100, 103, 105

  A-7s, 167

  AAA. See antiaircraft artillery

  accident investigations, 48, 84, 102, 105

  active-duty obligation, extension of, 189–91

  Adams, Paul DeWitt, 90–97, 115

  admiral, promotion to, 165–66

  AD Skyraiders, 42

  aerial gunnery practice, 36–37

  Africa, travels in, as aide to Gen. Adams, 94

  African Americans: attitudes of, pre-World War II, 3; equal opportunity in Navy for, 168; at Naval Academy, 193. See also racial attitudes

  air cavalry, first Army division of, 93

  aircraft carriers. See carrier

  Air Force: Strike Command and, 92; training policy, 132

  air show, for JFK, 77–79

  Alameda Naval Air Station, 167

  Alpha Strikes, 106–7

  Alumni Association, USNA, 214

  Alvarez, Edward, 127

  ANA. See Association of Naval Aviation ancestors, 1–2

  Anderson, George W., 61–63, 68, 90–91, 93

  Andrews Air Force Base, 60

  angled deck, carrier landing and, 43, 75, 85

  Annapolis, Maryland, 9

  Annapolis Capital, 176

  antiaircraft artillery (AAA), in Vietnam War, 100, 103–5, 107–10

  Antietam, 81

  Antonelli (Marine Major), 14

  AOC. See Aviation Officer Candidate program

  APR-25 Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) system, 100–101, 105

  Armstrong, Neil, 124

  Army-Navy Game of 1948, 11

  Army Reserve Officers Training Corps. See ROTC

  ashtrays on E-2C Hawkeyes, 208

  Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, 170

  Association of Naval Aviation (ANA), 214

  astronaut duty, failure to qualify for, 59–60

  athletes at Naval academy, special treatment of, 11–12

  Atsugi Naval Air Station, 39

  Attabury, Ed, 128

  Attack Squadron 196 (VAH-196), 105

  Aukofer, Frank, 214, 217

  Austin, Frank, 98–99

  auto gyro, 58

  aviation. See naval aviation

  Aviation Officer Candidate (AOC) program, 85

  Aviation Programs Division, 169–70

  Bailey, James, 103, 112

  Baker, Alan, 216

  Balboa Naval Hospital, 98

  Bangor, Washington, Trident basing at, 200–201

  Baysinger, Reaves, 12

  Beach, Ned, 64

  Bear bombers (Soviet Union), 76, 85

  Bell, Jim, 164

  Belzer, Elizabeth, 187–88

  Bethesda Naval Medical Center, 209, 211

  “Big Ugh,” 127

  Bishop, Max, 14

  Black Cats, 43

  “black shoe” duty, 74. See also surface navy

  Blue Angels, 13, 32, 39

  boatswain’s mates, 79–80

  Boorda, Mike, 206, 209–10

  Bowler, Robert, 186

  Bradford, Vic, 13

  Brady, Al, 119

  Bray, Linda, 188

  Brewer, Sterling (grandfather), 1

  Brewer, Sterling, Jr. (great-grandfather), 1

  Bright, Ray, 20

  Brown, Ensign, 102, 105

  Brown, Jesse, 30

  Brown, Tom, 198

  “brown shoe” duty, 74

  Buchanan, Franklin, 178

  Buck, Cal, 82–83

  BUPERS. See Bureau of Naval Personnel

  Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS)

  command, 205–10

  Burkhart, Larry, 210

  burnout, 211

  Butterfeld, John, 191–92

  C-118, 93

  Cabot, 28

  Calcutta, 123, 156

  “Capitol Hill” column, 214

  Carlson, Dudley, 210

  Carlyle Group, 214

  Carnavale, Ben, 14

  Carr, Deke, 32, 37

  carrier(s), debate on, 170–71

  carrier command, hopes for, 164, 166

  Carrier Division Six, 60, 91

  carrier group command, hopes for, 172

  carrier landings, 42–43; angled deck and, 43, 75, 85; Fresnel landing system and, 43, 75; at night, 43–46, 85

  carrier launches: catapult misfires, 33–34, 84–85; of F-4 Phantom, 109; night, 109

  Carter administration, 170

  catapult misfires, 33–34, 84–85

  Cecil Field Naval Air Station, 81, 88–89

  Chance Vought Company, 58

  Chew, John L. “Jack,” 14–15, 17–19

  childhood and youth, 1–8

  Civil War: impact on South, 2; Lawrence as student of, 5

  Clark Air Force Base, 134, 136

  Claytor, Graham, 173, 175

  CNO (Chief of Naval Operations), potential for promotion to, 209

  Code of Conduct, 111–13, 128

  Coker, George, 129

  Cold War: beginning of, 47–48; naval aviation and, 65; Newport News and, 76; planning and training in, 168; and Soviet overflights, 76, 85; and Third Fleet operations, 198

  College Hall of Fame, Inc., 214

  commissioning sources, diversity of, and Navy leadership, 85

  competitive mind set, piloting skills and, 36–37

  compressor stalls, 57–58

  Connie. See Constellation

  Conrad, Pete, 54–56, 60

  Constellation, 104–6, 168

  Cook, James, 202

  Coral Sea, 13

  Corpus Christi, Texas, 26, 28

  Corsair II, 167

  crashes and mishaps: aboard Oriskany, 33–34; catapult misfires, 33–34, 84–85; Ensign Brown, 102, 105; F-14 development and, 170; in flight training, 24–25; frequency of, 31, 70, 75; investigation of, 48, 84, 102, 105; John Mitchell, 45–46; shot down in Vietnam, 109–10, 116; Tim Kean, 54; while test pilot, 50, 55

  Crowe, William J., Jr., 216

  Cuba, intercept mission near, 87

  Cuban Missile Crisis, 63, 81, 87, 93

  Currey, Matt, 159–61

  Curtis Wright Company, 51

  DACOWITS. See Defense Advisory

  Committee on Women in the Service

  Daniels, Verlyne “Red,” 119–20

  Darby, Jack, 175–76

  dating: courtship of Anne (1st wife), 15, 22, 26
–27; courtship of Diane (2nd wife), 165, 213–14; in high school, 6; at Naval Academy, 11–13, 15

  Davis, Mrs. Lipscomb, 216

  Davis, Sam, 2

  death, 216

  decision making, Moorer on, 63

  “The Deep Sea Bed, the Current Status and Future Prospects” (Lawrence), 164

  Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Service (DACOWITS), 187

  demonstration, for JFK, 77–79

  Denton, Jerry, 129, 131, 166

  depression, 209–11

  D’ercole, Tina, 182

  Des Moines, 62

  discipline, laxity of, post-Vietnam, 168

  Dixie Station, 99

  Dobony, Chuck, 17

  Dominican Republic, rebellion in (1965), 94–95

  Donahue, Ray, 209–10

  Donovan, Frank, 176

  “dope system” at Naval Academy, 16–18

  Dornin, Dusty, 13–14

  Douglas Aircraft Company, 47

  Dramesi, John, 128

  drinking, at Naval Academy, 194

  drug investigation, at Naval Academy, 175

  E-2C Hawkeyes, ashtrays on, 208

  ECM, in Vietnam War, 100–101

  Edwards Air Force Base, 53, 56–57

  ejection seats, testing of, 54

  Elder, Bob, 57

  electronic countermeasures (ECM): improvement of, 168; in Vietnam War, 100–101, 105

  Electronic Countermeasures Squadron One (VQ-1), 106

  Ely, Eugene, 69

  embedding of reporters, 214

  endocarditis, 211

  Engen, Don, 57

  engineering, Lawrence’s interest in, 5

  Enlisted Combat Aircrewmen Roll of Honor, 42

  Enterprise, 77–78, 105

  Errington, Harry, 86

  Essex, 62–64

  Europe, travels in, as aide to Gen. Adams, 93–94

  executive assistant to General Adams, 90–97

  exposure suits, 38

  F2H Banshee, 31, 33, 35, 45

  F2HP photoreconnaissance unit, 39–41

  F3D Skynight, 71–72

  F3H Demon, 70, 72, 81–84, 86

  F4F Wildcat, 28–29

  F-4 Phantom: carrier launches of, 109; characteristics of, 71–72, 89, 108–9; crashes, 102; introduction to fleet, 69–72, 81, 86, 88; maintenance of, 86, 88–89, 108; testing of, 56–58; in Vietnam, 100–101, 108–10

  F5D Skylancer, 53

  F6F Hellcat, 28

  F-8 Crusader, 77–78

  F8F Bearcat, 28

  F8U Crusader, 56, 85

  F8U-1 Crusader, 54, 62

  F8U-3 Crusader, x–xi, 52–53, 56–58, 71–72

  F9F Cougar, 46, 49, 70

  F-14, development of, 170

  F-101 Voodoo, 72

  “fade 90,” 30

  Fallon Naval Air Station, 167

  Falvey, Jim, 108

  family, viii–ix; ancestors, 1–2; and military life, 89, 92, 99; and prisoner of war ordeal, 116, 125–27, 135–38, 157–63. See also entries under Lawrence

  family service center, at Naval Academy, 179–80

  Fast Net race, 180

  fear, as test pilot, 52

  Fellowes, Jack, 115, 131, 137

  Felt, Don, 91, 94

  Ferber, Edna, 26

  Fetrow, Fred, 184

  Fields of Fire (Webb), 184

  Fighter Squadron 11 (VF-11), 85

  Fighter Squadron 14 (VF-14), duty in, 81–90

  Fighter Squadron 74 (VF-74), 81

  Fighter Squadron 101 (VF-101): duty in, 69–72, 81, 86; mission of, 69

  Fighter Squadron 102 (VF-102), 81

  Fighter Squadron 121 (VF-102), 70

  Fighter Squadron 191 (VF-191), 46

  Fighter Squadron 193 (VF-193): duty in, 31–46; mission of, 31, 43, 46

  first tour of duty, 31–34

  FJ Fury, 50–52

  flag lieutenant duty, 60–70

  flak. See antiaircraft artillery

  flak suppressors, 103

  fleet ballistic missile submarines (SSBN), 200

  Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS), 99

  Fleming, Al, 66

  flight deck officer, 84

  flight instructor duty, 47–48

  flight training, 24–31; acceptance into, 22; excitement about, 23; instructors, 28–31; jet training, 29–31

  Flint, Larry, 57

  Flynn, John, 166

  Fonda, Jane, 121

  football: father’s career in, 2; participation in as youth, 3–4. See also Navy football

  Forbes, Beetle, 82

  Forrestal, 77, 89

  Forrestal Laboratories, Princeton University, 54–55

  Fraasa, Don, 17

  Franklin D. Roosevelt, 82, 85, 89

  Fresnel landing system, 43, 75

  FRS. See Fleet Replacement Squadron

  fueling at sea, 75–76

  full-dress uniform, reinstatement of, 23

  Fuller, Byron, 119

  funeral and burial, 216–17

  Gayler, Noel, 134

  Geneva Convention, 113

  Ghostriders, 31, 43, 46

  Giant (Ferber), 26

  Gibbs, Moe, 202

  Gilbert, Wilmer, 45

  Gillespie, Chuck, 119–20

  Glenn, Annie, 48–49

  Glenn, John, 48–49, 59–60

  global positioning system (GPS), 30

  Godley, George McMurtrie “Mac,” 94

  Golden Fleece Awards, 169

  Goldsborough, 204

  Gordon, Dick, 57

  Gordon, Ted, 70

  GPS (global positioning system), 30

  Grant, Ulysses S., 5

  Green, Wallace, 186

  Greenpeace, 200–201

  Greenwich Bay, 15

  Griffin, Charles D., 34, 42–43

  gunnery exercise, aboard Newport News, 76

  Haines, Ralph, 135, 157–62

  Haiphong Harbor, mining of, 108, 130

  Haley, Alex, 9

  Halsey, William F. “Bull,” 5, 202

  Hanley, Mike, 89

  Hanoi: bombing of, 103–5; “peace” delegations to, 121

  Hanoi Hannah, 124–25

  Hanoi Hilton. See prisoner of war ordeal

  happiness, components of, 211–12

  Harlow, David, 210

  Harris, Richard, 92

  Hayward, Tom, 172–73, 196, 207

  health: after prisoner of war ordeal, 136, 155; and astronaut duty, failure to qualify for, 59–60; as cause of retirement, 209–10; depression, 209–11; and happiness, 212; heart murmur, 59–60, 98–99; in retirement, viii, 210–11, 215

  Heavy Attack Squadron 11 (VAH-11), 85

  Hegdahl, Doug, 127

  Heinemann, Ed, 47

  Helms, Richard, 85

  heroes and influences: early, 2, 5–7; as flag lieutenant, 63; in later career, 170; at Naval Academy, 13–15; during prisoner of war ordeal, 131–32

  Hickam Air Force Base, 137

  Hickman, Herman, 8

  high-g flight, 40–41

  High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM), 106

  Hill, Harry, 16, 18–20, 22–23

  Hill, Pete, 216

  history: importance of knowing, 5, 204; Lawrence as student of, 5

  Hoa Lo prison, incarceration in. See prisoner of war ordeal

  Ho Chi Minh, 127

  Ho Chi Minh Trail, 106

  Holloway, James, Jr., 12, 18–19

  Holloway, James II, 105

  Holloway, James III (“Triple Sticks”), 105, 169

  Holloway Program, 12

  Honolulu Star Bulletin, 201–2

  Honor Concept, at Naval Academy, viii, 17–22

  “hot pad” duty, 87

  hot refueling, 88–89

  Hudner, Tom, 30–31

  Hull, 203

  Hunter, Charlie, 180

  Hyland, John, 63–65

  hypoxia, 42

  “in hack,” 39

  Inspector General
Hotline, 168

  Intrepid, 50

  Irwin, Sandy, 182

  J57 engine, 57

  J65 engine, 51

  J71 engine, 82

  J75 engine, 57

  J79 engine, 57, 89

  Jackson, Gordon, 193

  Jacksonville, Florida, 69–70, 89

  Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, 199

  Jenkins, Harry, 131

  jet planes: carrier landings, 42–43, 75, 85; compressor stalls, 57–58; desire to be involved with, 47; first jet night battle, 71; flying of, 29; introduction of, 23, 29; landing wheels and brakes on, 51–52; night landings, 43–46, 85; ram effect, 57; spool-up time, 43; training on, 29–31

  jinking, 107

  Johnson, Johnny, 76

  Johnson, Lyndon B., 58, 100, 107

  Joint Test and Evaluation Task Force, 93

  Jones, Betty, 12–13

  Jones, Carrie, 182

  Jones, John Paul, 17

  Kahoolawe range, 201

  Kean, Tim, 54

  Kennedy, John F., 63, 77–79, 89–90

  Kennedy, Ted, 125, 158

  Key, Francis Scott, 9

  Key West Naval Air Station, 70, 81, 86–87

  Kimmel, Husband, 76

  Kimmel, Thomas, 76–79

  King, Jerry, 67

  King Ranch, 26

  Kingsville, Texas, 26, 28–29

  Kirk, Tom, 119–20, 122–23, 135–36

  Kitty Hawk, 105, 168

  Korea, missions in/over, 38, 42

  Korean Airlines 747, Soviet shootdown of (1983), 198

  Korean War: aircraft in, 71; deployment to, 32–34; desire to fight in, 27, 29; end of, 38

  Kunta Kinte, 9

  landing signal officer (LSO): Fresnel

  landing system and, 75; history of, 26–27; night landings and, 43–44 landing wheels and brakes, on jets, 51–52

  Langley, 26

  Langley Air Force Base, 89

  Lawrence, Anne Williams (1st wife): anxiety of pilot’s wife, 26, 34, 50, 70, 72–73, 75; courtship and marriage, 15, 22, 26–27; divorce from, 135–36, 160–61, 212; married life, 48–49, 54, 60–61, 68–70, 72–73, 75, 77; post-POW contact with, 157, 159–60, 162; and POW ordeal, 112, 125–26, 133, 135, 157–59; wing-pinning ceremony and, 29

  Lawrence, Bill Jr. (son), viii, 126–27, 136–38, 156–57, 159, 162–63

  Lawrence, Bobby (brother), 1, 4, 126, 137

  Lawrence, Diane Wilcox (2nd wife): courtship and marriage, 165, 213–14; on Lawrence, 213–17; Lawrence’s health and, viii, 211; married life, 168, 170, 173–74, 196–97; at Naval Academy, 178, 181, 192; retirement and, 210–11; on women in military, 173