To his many admirers, Vice Admiral William P. Lawrence needs no introduction. Now, the Naval Institute is producing his oral history to ensure that future generations have the opportunity to learn from his extraordinary experiences.
Themes of duty and integrity permeate Bill Lawrence’s life story. As a midshipman in the early 1950s, he helped devise the Naval Academy’s honor concept. Later, he served as flag lieutenant to future Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Thomas Moorer and, as a test pilot, helped develop the F-4 Phantom.
On 28 June 1967, as commanding officer of Attack Squadron 143 on board the USS Constellation (CV-64), Commander Lawrence was shot down during a mission over Nam Dihn, North Vietnam. Forced to eject from his crippled Phantom, he was captured and endured nearly six years of confinement at the hands of the North Vietnamese. Ironically, earlier in his career he had switched briefly from naval aviation to surface line because of his wife’s concerns for his safety. (Her father had been a prisoner of war in World War II, and she worried the same fate would befall her husband during the Vietnam War.) But the slower pace of surface operations did not suit him, so he soon went back to flying.
After his release on 4 March 1973, Bill Lawrence returned to active duty. He became Superintendent of the Naval Academy in 1978, shortly after the admittance of women, including his own daughter, who graduated in 1981. He later served as Commander, Third Fleet, and as Chief of Naval Personnel.
Admiral Lawrence’s memoir is remarkable for its candor and for its demonstration of his integrity and character. Naval Institute historian Paul Stillwell conducted 22 interview sessions with the admiral in the early 1990s. Your tax-deductible gift to the Institute’s oral history program will help complete this project, underwriting the labor-intensive work of transcribing, proofreading, editing, footnoting, and providing an annotated index. Those who make gifts of $1,000 or more will be recognized in the history’s preface and will receive a copy of the handsome bound volume. For more information, please contact Sue Sweeney at (410) 295-1054 or at email@example.com .
In addition to extensive development and corporate experience, Bill MacIntosh also has served as president of Sail Baltimore, a nonprofit organization that promotes ship visits to the East Coast and created OpSail 2000, the largest tall-ship event in history.
Bill MacIntosh Joins the Foundation Team
The Naval Institute Foundation’s efforts to support the Naval Institute are enhanced by the recent addition of William R. MacIntosh as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
Before joining the Foundation, Bill was vice president for development at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, where he completed a record-breaking $103 million capital campaign for the college of liberal arts and sciences. His prior business experience includes Nestlé, S.A., where he led financial and operational engagements in Switzerland, Brazil, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and Sweden and later was appointed vice president for finance, managing Nestlé’s global investment and loan portfolio. At PepsiCo International, Bill directed the international treasury function, concentrating on South America and Asia, including the funding of PepsiCo’s first bottling operation in China. He later held senior corporate finance and leasing positions at PHH Corporation in Hunt Valley, Maryland.
A graduate of Harvard College and the Harvard Business School, Bill also served as a U.S. Army military intelligence officer. He and his wife, Kay, have two sons, Will and John, and live in Chestertown, Maryland. He can be reached at (410) 295-1056, or at firstname.lastname@example.org .
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