Every state has a poem. They all express the loyalty, love, and beauty of each individual state of our great nation. Some have humble origins; others are as old as the state itself. Tennessee’s is unique. It was born of tragedy, but the poem is a triumph and a reflection of the man who wrote it solely in his mind. He had no paper or pencil to create his ode to the state of Tennessee.
William Porter Lawrence, better known as Bill to his friends, was born in 1930 in Nashville, Tennessee. His lineage in Tennessee went back several generations. He attended public schools in Nashvillietnam, powe and was a strong academic student. He turned down scholarship offers to some of our nation’s most elite schools to attend college at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Bill Lawrence stood out at the Naval Academy as an athlete in multiple major sports and as a leader of several Academy organizations. He was academically a scholar and was president of his senior class. A lot was going on with this young man. He would prove himself as a leader, a survivor, and an intellectual.
By 1952 Bill Lawrence had become what many aspire to be, a Naval aviator. One of the best of the best of pilots. He was recruited for and became a Navy test pilot. He was the first Navy pilot to fly twice the speed of sound. He also flew combat missions in Korea, distinguishing himself as an able pilot. When NASnam dinhA was recruiting for its early flights, he became a finalist for Project Mercury but did not make it to the final round because of a heart valve disorder. He was destined for other things.
In 1967 Admiral Bill Lawrence was commanding a fighter squadron aboard the USS Constellation in the seas off southeast Asia. On June 28 of that year, he and his radar intercept officer were leading a raid north of Nam Dinh, North Vietnam. Lawrence was piloting an F4B Phantom II aircraft when it was shot down by an 85 mm round. Lawrence and his copilot were able to release their bombs before the failing aircraft forced their ejection. He and his copilot, James W. Bailey, survived the bailout and were taken prisoner by North Vietnam.
From 1967 to his release in Operation Homecoming in 1973, Bill Lawrence proved himself as a true officer, a leader, and one whose loyalty to his nation is unparalleled. Bill Lawrence was incarcerated at the famed “Hanoi Hilton” and was among the highest-ranking officers. While there, he memorized the names of all those there and devised a communication system among the POWs. It consisted of tapping, coughing, and sniffing to communicate among the isolated cells. The North Vietnamese became aware of the communication system developed by Lawrence and soon found out who had developed it. His punishment was severe.
According to the Washington Post, he was tossed “into a dank, tin-roofed cell. Prisoners called it ‘the Black Hole of Calcutta.’” During the next two months, he developed heat sores. For nourishment, he competed with enormous rats for scraps of bread. To occupy his mind, he wrote the poem about his home state.”
Bill Lawrence spent sixty days in solitary confinement. Without pencil or paper to help maintain his sanity, he created a poem that is now the official state poem of Tennessee:
Oh Tennessee, My Tennessee
What Love and Pride I Feel for Thee.
You Proud Ole State, the Volunteer,
Your Proud Traditions I Hold Dear.
I Revere Your Heroes
Who Bravely Fought our Country’s Foes.
Renowned Statesmen, so Wise and Strong,
Who Served our Country Well and Long.
I Thrill at the thought of Mountains Grand;
Rolling Green Hills and Fertile Farm Land;
Earth is Rich with Stone, Mineral and Ore;
Forests Dense and Wild Flowers Galore;
Powerful Rivers that Bring us Light;
Deep Lakes with Fish and Fowl in Flight;
Thriving Cities and Industries;
Fine Schools and Universities;
Strong Folks of Pioneer Descent,
Simple, Honest, and Reverent.
Beauty and Hospitality
Are the Hallmarks of Tennessee.
And O’er the World as I May Roam,
No Place Exceeds my Boyhood Home.
And Oh How Much I Long to See
My Native Land, My Tennessee.
Other Prisoners of War at the time said Admiral Bill Lawrence was noted for his resistance to his captors. His pride in his country and homeland was steadfast, and his leadership calm and true. His intelligence and creativity were unparalleled. He was a man of conviction and one that other prisoners looked up to, a true leader in a time of great peril and anguish.
Upon his release in 1973, Admiral Lawrence found that his wife had married the priest that had comforted her in his absence. He, too, remarried, and while serving in ex-POW organizations in a leadership role, he never looked back on his captivity or dwelled on the six years of starvation, hardship, and torture. He continued to serve his country.
Admiral Lawrence returned to school after his liberation from the POW camp. He earned a master’s degree from Old Dominion University, was promoted to Rear Admiral, and served in many high-ranking leadership roles in the Navy, including three years as superintendent of the Naval Academy at Annapolis. He advocated for his ex-POW comrades and spoke of his experiences, talked of depression, and sought benefits for those who had experienced imprisonment while serving their country.
Bill Lawrence passed in 2005. He was survived by his wife, three children from his first marriage, and a stepson. He was buried with honors at the cemetery at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
Bill Lawrence’s poem is remembered as not just an ode to Tennessee but the cry of freedom and resistance to captivity of a great man who used his intelligence to serve his brothers in captivity by his example, intelligence, and leadership. A truly great man.
A Naval ship was named after Bill Lawrence, The USS William P. Lawrence, a guided missile destroyer. The ship is part of the United States Naval Fourth Fleet.
Several months before his death, never forgetting his Tennessee roots, Bill Lawrence completed his memoir, Tennessee Patriot. It is available on Amazon.
One of Bill Lawrence’s daughters followed in his footsteps and became a Naval helicopter pilot. Later, as part of her NASA career, she flew missions in the Space Shuttles, Atlantis, Endeavor, and Discovery.
Bill Lawrence was a friend and comrade to my father, a former POW in WWII. He spoke to the men about his own experiences and encouraged them to do the same to combat depression and anxiety. He lobbied the government for benefits for those who had experienced captivity and personally counseled and befriended many like my dad.
