William P. Lawrence

William P. Lawrence entered the U.S. Naval Academy in July 1947 and he was commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Navy on June 1, 1951. Ensign Lawrence continued on at the Academy as Aide to the Commandant until September 1951, and then attended flight training, earning his designation as a Naval Aviator in November 1952. After completing advanced flight training, All Weather Flight School, and Jet Training, Lieutenant Lawrence served as an F2H Banshee pilot with VF-193 at NAS Moffett Field, California, from March 1953 to October 1955. During this time, he deployed to Korea aboard the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany (CVA-34) from March to April 1953. He then attended the Aviation Safety University of Southern California from October to December 1955, followed by Test Pilot School at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, from January to August 1956. His next assignment was as a Project Pilot at Pax River from August 1956 to November 1958, and then as a Flight Instructor and Assistant Operations Officer at the Test Pilot School from November 1958 to May 1959. During this time, Lieutenant Lawrence became the first Navy pilot to fly twice the speed of sound in a production Navy aircraft, and he was a Navy nominee for the initial NASA Astronaut selection and was one of the final 32 candidates for Project Mercury. He then served as a Flag Lieutenant and Safety Officer with Carrier Division 6 from June 1959 to October 1960, followed by service as Assistant Operations Officer with VF-101 at NAS Oceana, Virginia, from October 1960 to June 1961. Lieutenant Commander Lawrence next served as Navigator aboard the heavy cruiser USS Newport News (CA-148) from June 1961 to July 1962, and then completed F-4 Phantom II Replacement Air Group training with VF-101 from July to November 1962. His next assignment was as Maintenance Officer with VF-14 at NAS Cecil Field, Florida, from November 1962 to January 1964, and then as Aide to the Commander in Chief of U.S. Strike Command at MacDill AFB, Florida, from February 1964 to February 1966. Commander Lawrence then completed F-4 RAG training with VF-121 from February to July 1966, followed by service as Executive Officer and then Commanding Officer of VF-143 from July 1966 until he was forced to eject over North Vietnam and was taken as a Prisoner of War on June 28, 1967.