James Fugate Lawrence Jr. (March 17, 1918 – September 18, 2006) was a highly decorated

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

brigadier general. He was awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is equivalent to the Army ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

and later became the first Marine lawyer

general officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Early life and career

James F. Lawrence was born on March 17, 1918, in

Rutledge, Tennessee Rutledge is a city in and the county seat of Grainger County, Tennessee, Grainger County, Tennessee. The city is part of both the Knoxville metropolitan area and the Morristown metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total popula ...

. Upon graduating from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

in 1941, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. Lawrence was assigned as a

platoon leader A platoon leader (NATO) or platoon commander (more common in Commonwealth militaries and the US Marine Corps) is the officer in charge of a platoon. This person is usually a junior officer – a second or first lieutenant or an equivalent rank ...

in the

1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine (military), Marine Division (military), division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine E ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He took part in the

Guadalcanal campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by the United States, was an Allies of World War II, Allied offensive against forces of the Empire of Japan in the Solomon Islands during th ...

in 1942, and after liberty in Australia, he led his

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

in the

battle of Cape Gloucester The Battle of Cape Gloucester was fought in the Pacific theater of World War II between Japanese and Allied forces on the island of New Britain, Territory of New Guinea, between 26 December 1943 and 16 January 1944. Codenamed Operation Backh ...

in December 1943. Lawrence returned to the United States in 1944 with several awards including the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

. Lawrence then briefly took

Asian studies Asian studies is the term used usually in North America and Australia for what in Europe is known as Oriental studies. The field is concerned with the Asian people, their cultures, languages, history and politics. Within the Asian sphere, Asian ...

and Japanese language courses at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. He then took part in the occupations of Japan and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

for three years following the end of World War II.

Korean War

When the

started,

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Lawrence was assigned to the

2nd Battalion, 7th Marines The 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines (2/7) is a light infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. They are based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms and consist of approximately 800 marines and sailors. The battali ...

, 1st Marine Division as the

operations officer Military operations is a concept and application of military science that involves planning the operations for the projected maneuvering forces' provisions, services, training, and administrative functions—to allow them to commence, insert, t ...

. He took part in the amphibious assault at Inchon and the subsequent recapture of Seoul in September 1950. At the conclusion of the Inchon-Seoul campaign, the entire 1st Marine Division embarked on

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

ships and sailed around

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, landing at

Wonsan Wonsan (), previously known as Wonsanjin (), is a port city and naval base located in Kangwon Province (North Korea), Kangwon Province, North Korea, along the eastern side of the Korean Peninsula, on the Sea of Japan and the provincial capital. ...

in October. The division then marched 70 miles north to the Chosin Reservoir area. As the Marines arrived at Chosin Reservoir, the Chinese Communist military encircled the entire division and the coldest winter in 50 years descended on Korea. Temperatures fell as low as −35 °F as a

blizzard A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow th ...

swept the area. By late November, the Marines were forced to fight their way through the Chinese in order to withdraw to the south. During the withdrawal from Hagaru-ri to Koto-ri, Major Lawrence's battalion was assigned as the division

vanguard The vanguard (sometimes abbreviated to van and also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. ...

. On December 6, Lawrence voluntarily led a small group behind the forward assault platoon, despite continuous enemy fire and shells which exploded in close proximity to him, in order to coordinate the advance and direct fire. During the first four miles of the advance, Lawrence effectively directed the destruction of three Chinese roadblocks. Major Lawrence's battalion commander succumbed to

combat fatigue Combat stress reaction (CSR) is acute behavioral disorganization as a direct result of the trauma of war. Also known as "combat fatigue", "battle fatigue", "operational exhaustion", or "battle/war neurosis", it has some overlap with the diagnosis ...

and the executive officer was seriously wounded, leaving Lawrence as the senior Marine officer. He unhesitatingly took command of his battalion and led his Marines in smashing through the last roadblocks outside of Koto-ri for the next few hours. Lawrence then led his Marines back to continue fighting and assist the rest of the division in reaching Koto-ri. For his bravery during the battle, Lawrence was awarded the

and a second Bronze Star.

Later Marine Corps career

After returning to the United States, Lawrence attended law school at George Washington University. Upon graduating in 1953, he served as a legal advisor to the

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia Marine Corps Base Quantico (commonly abbreviated MCB Quantico) is a United States Marine Corps installation located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly of southern Prince William County, Virginia, northern Stafford County, and southea ...

. Lawrence was then assigned to Marine Forces Pacific as a senior legal officer. In May 1967, Lawrence became the first Marine lawyer to be promoted to brigadier general. He was then given a nonlegal assignment as the Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs, which included being The Pentagon's primary liaison with

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

. The Office of the Secretary of Defense would not release Lawrence from his position despite

Headquarters Marine Corps The Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC) is a headquarters staff within the Department of the Navy which includes the offices of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps and various staff functions. The funct ...

' efforts to have Lawrence command the Judge Advocate Division. Brigadier General Lawrence retired from the Marines in November 1968. However, he was recalled to active duty to continue serving as the Deputy Assistant before he retired a second time in 1972. Lawrence was awarded two

Navy Distinguished Service Medal The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919 and is presented to Sailors and Marines to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritorio ...

s for his services as the Deputy Assistant.

Post-Marine career and life

For the next 20 years following his retirement, Lawrence continued to practice law in

Springfield, Virginia Springfield is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The Springfield CDP is recognized by the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 31,339 as of the 20 ...

. In 1979, he helped found the

Marine Corps Heritage Foundation The National Museum of the Marine Corps is the historical museum of the United States Marine Corps. Located in Triangle, Virginia near Marine Corps Base Quantico, the museum opened on November 10, 2006, and is now one of the top tourist attracti ...

. James F. Lawrence died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

on September 18, 2006, at the

National Naval Medical Center National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

. He was buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, James F., Jr. 1918 births 2006 deaths United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War George Washington University Law School alumni Military personnel from Tennessee People from Rutledge, Tennessee Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal United States Marine Corps generals University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Virginia lawyers Burials at Arlington National Cemetery

Early life and career

Korean War

Later Marine Corps career

Post-Marine career and life

See also

References