Vice Adm. William P. Lawrence, head of the Navy's Third Fleet from 1981 to 1983 when it was headquartered at Pearl Harbor, improved Navy mobility in the Pacific and supported the notion of a 600-ship fleet to counter advances in Soviet naval forces during the Cold War.

The Pearl Harbor position was just one important post in a lifetime of notable accomplishments.

On Oct. 17, a statue will be dedicated to Lawrence at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., depicting him in another successful endeavor — that of test pilot.

Lt. William Lawrence graduated first in his Test Pilot school class, and he became the first Navy pilot to fly a Navy jet twice the speed of sound.

Lawrence turned down a Yale scholarship and in 1947, enrolled in the Naval Academy's Class of 1951, graduating 8th out of 725.

Decades later, Lawrence became superintendent of the academy in 1978.

In the late 1950s, he was a candidate for the Project Mercury space program, but was bounced when a minor heart murmur was discovered.

He flew in both Korea and Vietnam, and in June of 1967 his F-4 Phantom was shot down over North Vietnam. Lawrence spent 5 1/2 years in Hoa Lo prison, better known as the "Hanoi Hilton."

Lynne Waters, a former KITV news anchor, got to know Bill Lawrence and his wife, Diane, and will read a proclamation about their contributions to Hawai'i at the Oct. 17 dedication.

Bill Lawrence died in 2005 at the age of 75.

"He was real open about being the Navy voice in the community on Navy issues," Waters said.

Diane Lawrence had been on the board of Assets School.

Waters said the two met courtesy of fellow prisoner of war and now presidential candidate U.S. Sen. John McCain. McCain had set up then-Diane Wilcox Raugh, his physical therapist, with Lawrence on a blind date, Waters said.

While a POW, the Nashville native wrote "Oh Tennessee, My Tennessee," which was adopted in 1973 as Tennessee's official state poem.

A program for the dedication quotes McCain as saying this about Lawrence during their POW days: "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."

The guest speaker for the statue dedication is expected to be H. Ross Perot, a 1953 Naval Academy grad.

IN BRIEF

B-52 BOMBERS COMPLETE DEPLOYMENT

B-52 Stratofortress bombers assigned to the 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron were scheduled to return home to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., last week after completing a four-month deployment to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.

B-52s from the 23rd Bomb Squadron at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., are replacing the Louisiana-based airmen.

Pacific Air Forces has kept a continuous bomber presence at Andersen since March 2004 as a "deterrent capability," the Air Force said.

"The U.S. Pacific Command is committed to promoting stability and security in the region," said Col. Damian McCarthy, 36th Operations Group commander. "We welcome the 23rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron to Andersen and have confidence the squadron will continue to demonstrate U.S. commitment to the Asia-Pacific region."

GRANT SUPPORTS MISSOURI MEMORIAL

The Battleship Missouri Memorial recently received a $20,000 grant from the McInerny Foundation to support the preservation and restoration of the last American battleship's dental clinic.

Over the past 10 years, McInerny Foundation has awarded a total of $95,000 in support of the USS Missouri Memorial Association, Inc., the nonprofit organization that operates the memorial, Missouri officials said.

"We are overwhelmed by the generous support of the McInerny Foundation," said Sarah Tenney, vice president of development for the memorial.

The dental clinic restoration project will refurbish the dental office, two operatories, X-ray facility, prosthetics lab, dental supply room and medical/dental enlisted personnel berthing to accurately portray the dental clinic's operational environment, circa 1991, officials said.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.