A bamboo cage six feet underground
Tennessean endures torture in the Vietnam War

William Lawrence was a Nashville native who attended the U.S. Naval Academy, became a fighter pilot, and was shot down during a combat mission over Vietnam. During his six years of captivity as a prisoner of war in Hanoi (at the infamous camp known sarcastically as the Hanoi Hilton), Lawrence wrote a poem that is, today, the official Tennessee state poem. In December 2007, William Turner, a childhood friend of Billy Lawrence's, gave a speech about his longtime friend. Here is an excerpt:
An aircraft carrier deck similar to the one on the USS Constellation
By the time Vietnam came along, Billy had become commanding officer of Fighter Squadron 143 -- or the "Puking Dogs," as they were called -- a legendary group of U.S. Navy fighter pilots. When he took off from the flight deck of the carrier U.S.S. Constellation on June 28, 1967, and headed for North Vietnam, he didn't realize his life would never be the same. He was not to return for six years.

He had only four hours of sleep when he guided his F-4 Phantom leading a 35-jet bombing raid on Haiphong. The following is a direct quote from the citation of the Silver Star awarded to him on the mission on which he was shot down:

"Commander Lawrence approached the target area in the head of the strike group, immediately coming under an intense barrage of heavy anti-aircraft fire. He unhesitatingly proceeded to carry out his attack in order to neutralize the enemy's capabilities. Although his aircraft was severely damaged by anti-aircraft fire during the attack, Commander Lawrence pressed on to deliver a deadly blow to the most prominent threat site. His selfless courage and determination throughout were in keeping with the highest tradition of the United States Naval Service."
A part of the Vietnamese prisoner of war camp, sarcastically known as the "Hanoi Hilton," in which Lawrence was kept for six years.
The anti-aircraft fire had done its damage due to the fact that he had not turned back when initially hit, but continued on his mission, costing him six years of brutal torture, starvation and mental anguish in the so-called Hanoi Hilton.

He finally ejected after completing his mission and was met on the ground by people who beat him before turning him over to the militia, which forced him to run for two hours to an outpost -- being prodded with sticks and clubs along the route -- he said that he was literally running for his life. The North Vietnamese blindfolded and handcuffed him and placed him in a truck for what he said was an "unbelievably painful trip" to Hanoi. When he arrived at the prison, he endured five consecutive days of torture -- the flesh was literally stripped from his ankles and legs from writhing in the manacles. He still has cigarette burns on his ankles from another torture session.
William Lawrence
PHOTO: TN State Library and Archives
He and his cellmates communicated by coughing in Morse Code. They bathed in horse troughs. The hygiene was terrible and the food was mostly pumpkin soup. For several months Billy was kept in a bamboo cage six feet under ground -- the ceiling of which was open to the elements -- with only bars across the top.

While in prison, Billy wrote a poem called "Oh Tennessee, My Tennessee" which was designated the State Poem of Tennessee by act of the General Assembly in 1973. The poem was made up in his mind since he had no writing utensils or paper. The last lines of the poem are particularly haunting when you consider the circumstances: "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."

Note: A few days after William Turner gave this speech, Lawrence died at the age of 75.