Bio, Lawrence, Gregory P.

Name: Gregory Paul Lawrence
Rank/Branch: E4/US Air Force
Unit: 37th Air Rescue/Recovery Squadron, Da Nang AB SV
Date of Birth: 10 March 1938
Home City of Record: Phenix AL
Date of Loss: 05 October 1968
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 155357N 1072258E (YC592700)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: HH3E
Refno: 1298
Other Personnel in Incident: Albert D. Wester (missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 April 1990 with the assistance
of one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency
sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources,
interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK 1999 with information from his
daughter, Debbie Webster. Update 2000 with information from James Grady.
2020

SYNOPSIS: Maj. Albert D. Wester was a copilot of an HH3E "Jolly Green Giant"
helicopter dispatched on a recovery mission on the border of South Vietnam
and Laos on October 5, 1968. The Jolly Green normally carried a crew of
four, and could carry up to 30 passengers, but the only other crew member
whose name is part of public record is Sgt. Gregory P. Lawrence.

At a point about due west of Da Nang in Laos, on the border of Quang Nam
Province in South Vietnam and Savannakhet Province in Laos, Maj. Wester's
aircraft was hit by hostile fire and crashed. Both Wester and Lawrence
sustained fatal injuries from the subsequent crash, fire and explosion. It
is assumed, but not known, that the rest of the crew was either rescued or
recovered dead.

Wester and Lawrence are among a number of Americans who were listed as
Killed in Action, Body Not Recovered. They are counted among the missing
because their remains were never recovered for an honorable burial at home.
For their families, there can be some assurance that they died in the
service of their country.

The cases of many of the missing, however, are much more complex. Among
those missing, a substantial number were known to have been alive when last
seen. Some were even photographed in captivity, only to disappear.

Since the end of the war, the U.S. has engaged in tentative "talks" with the
countries of Southeast Asia, primarily Vietnam, which has resulted in the
return of several hundred sets of American remains. In Laos, where Wester
and Lawrence still lie, the U.S. has excavated aircraft crash sites with
varying degrees of success in recovery of American remains.

Critics of U.S. policy in dealing with the POW/MIA issue point to the nearly
10,000 reports received since the war ended relating to Americans missing in
Southeast Asia. Many authorities who have examined these reports have come
to the reluctant conclusion that hundreds of Americans are still alive in
captivity today.

Unfortunately, progress has been particularly slow in Laos. The U.S. never
negotiated for the release of the "tens of tens" of Americans the Pathet Lao
stated they held during the war. Consequently, even those Americans known to
have been captured by the Lao were never released. The U.S. has been unable
to secure the freedom of even a single captive American since the war, even
though reports of sightings continue to pour in. Surely there is a
reasonable solution to bringing these men home. They willingly served us
when they were called to do so. What are we doing to keep the faith with
them?

... He was consider an old man while stationed with the 37th ARRS at the age
of 30 years old. He voluntered to go to war. I didn't learn much about my
dad until about a year ago (after I had outlived him by a year) when I
started my search to learn more about the man he was, the man in the picture
on the Wall I called daddy. I have learned from vets that were his buddies
in Danang that he loved to build model airplanes and spent most of his free
time working on them. He didn't drink or smoke and never left the base to go
party with the others. He was trusted by everyone he flew with and was
always there for them when they needed to talk. His job in rescue was as the
Flight Engineer (door gunner) and he enjoyed it completely. His love for his
country and for flying is why he went to Nam. He was always smiling and a
very happy man (even in Nam he was happy). I have been told that I am a lot
like my dad as far as my personality and I have his smile, hearing the vets
that I have met tell me makes me feel closer to my dad. I was 2 yrs old when
he died and have no memories of him.

He met my mom while he was in the Army stationed at Ft.Benning, Ga. and they
married in 1964. They had 3 children together, two daughters and a son. My
brother was born while dad was in Nam and they never had the chance to see
one another. When his time was up in the Army he got out and shortly after
that enlisted in the AF.

The Joint Task Force has located the crash site and plan on excavating it in
2002 (not holding my breath for that). They only found the wreackage. Maybe
one day they will find what might be left of my dad and send him home to be
buried at home, where he belongs.

Subject: Re: gregory paul lawrence
Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2000 19:54:19 -0500
From: "James Grady" <jimsan@river-valley.net>

The Jolly Greens at Danang maintained two HH3Es and crews on alert at
Danang, and also at Quang Tri. On Oct 5, 1968, the Danang alert Jollys
were launched.

A long range patrol consisting of three American special forces men and 7 or
8 Viet mercenaries had been inserted in Laos to monitor traffic on the Ho
Che Minh roads. It had been ambushed immediately and the insertion army
helicopter had been shot down. The team was able to maintain it's position
on the LZ (landing zone) but was surrounded at close quarters. The army
was not able to get a helicopter into the area due to groundfire. The Jolly
Greens were then launched.

The LZ was on the slope of a mountain with a deep narrow valley leading to
it from below. Goundfire was coming from all sides.

The Jollys were escorted by A1E (Sandys) aircraft which were a part of the
alert team. Many "fast movers" (F4, F100, etc.) and other A1s (Spads) were
diverted from other missions to aid in suppressing groundfire. A1s were the
workhorses of the rescue business because they are much more accurate and
more safe to work in close to survivors.

Due to very dense forest it is usually impossible to see anything on the
ground. The fixed wing acft try to pinpoint the enemy by flying low and
slow in an attempt to get the enemy to fire at them. The survivors may be
able to direct fire also. I explain this in order to point out the
difficulty in assuring a safe hover by the rescue Jolly. If the survivor is
not aware of the enemy position, or if the enemy is not taken in by the
teasing of the fixed wing acft. then we can only assume that it is safe.
That assumption is all too often incorrect.

In this instance the first Jolly was hit and badly damaged. The second
Jolly was required to accompany the damaged one on it's return to Danang. In
the meantime a second pair of Jollys had been placed on alert. The
eng/gunner of one of them needed to leave the facility for some reason and
had asked for someone to replace him for a short time. Lawrence
volunteered.

The Jolly on which Lawrence flew was designated the "low bird", or primary.
I was in the high bird, (backup).

As much as possible having been done to provide a safe hover, the low bird
was cleared in. In the high bird we observed our buddy approach to a hover,
then abruptly catch fire,swing about and start down the valley, only to
crash almost immediately. We learned later that as the helicopter downwash
parted the brush and grass at the edge of the LZ, two enemy were seen lying
there. They fired upward from very close range using explosive projectiles.
Very probably rifle launched grenades. We immediately descended to hover
over the fireball but could see nothing in the fire.

Shortly thereafter we established radio contact with the PJ. He had escaped
through a window and run into the jungle, there to find himself in the
midst of a campsite, complete with many hammocks hung in the trees. The
campers were not at home since they were busy up at the LZ. We also made
contact with the right seat pilot who had got out only because one of the
grenades had blown out the left side of the cockpit and also blown the left
seat pilot, seat and all, into the front of the acft. There is no door to
the cockpit except through the main compartment which would by then have
been impossible to go through due to the fire.

The two men were then able to join just down from the crash, hiding
themselves in the brush.

By now the evening was approaching and we needed to finish this episode
before dark. We directed the army team to break out and run down the valley
to the point where our Jolly Greens were . In order to facilitate the
breakout the team was to go immediately as there was an F4 inbound with two
large high drag bombs which impact the the LZ very shortly. This, we
hoped, would discourage anyone attempting to follow the team.

We then hovered over our comrades and hoisted them aboard. The team arrived
quite quickly, having lost one American on the way.

The PJ confirmed that Lawrence had been killed instantly on impact. The
pilot confirmed that the other pilot was dead.

I believe that our brave men were cremated by the fire. They died having
lived with the motto of the Jolly Greens; "THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE"

note ll: In addition to the army personnel who were left in the jungle
after this episode. I am aware of several instances where bodies were
abandoned in areas where they would never be found. Unfortunately I
remember no names and could never find the areas. I don't know why no one
recorded these things. I think we at the combat end thought that someone at
the control end would be keeping the records.

SGT GREGORY PAUL LAWRENCE

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Conflict
Service
Status

VIETNAM WAR
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
Unaccounted For

On October 5, 1968, an HH-3E Jolly Green helicopter (tail number 65-12782, call sign Jolly Green 10) with a crew of four carried out a combat search and rescue mission to extract an eight-man special operations team from hostile territory in Laos. Upon landing at the LZ to pick up the ground team, the helicopter was hit by enemy ground fire. A fire started on the aircraft, and it moved away from the landing zone but crashed while still on the Lao side of the border. Two members of the crew survived the crash, explosion and fire, and another helicopter moved in to rescue the surviving six members of the special operations team survived the crash. The copilot and flight engineer died in the crash.

Sergeant Gregory Paul Lawrence, who entered the U.S. Air Force from Alabama, served with the 37th Air Rescue and Recovery Squadron and was the flight engineer aboard this helicopter at the time of its loss. He was killed in the crash and his remains could not be recovered. Today, Sergeant Lawrence is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Active Pursuit.

If you are a family member of this serviceman, DPAA can provide you with additional information and analysis of your case. Please contact your casualty office representative.

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Sgt GREGORY PAUL LAWRENCE

Unit 37 ARRSG
Historical Country of Loss
Laos
Current Country of Loss
LAOS
Home of Record AL