Lawrence Dickson
332d Fighter Group | |
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Awards |
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Spouse(s) | Phyllis C. Dickson |
Relations | Daughter Marla |
Lawrence Dickson (May 31, 1920 – December 23, 1944) † was an American pilot and a member of the famed group of the World War II-era Tuskegee Airmen. Dickson flew 68 mission in World War II before he was forced to eject from his aircraft over Austria in 1944. Dickson was declared missing in action. On July 27, 2018, Dickson's remains were identified by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.[1]
Military service
Dickson graduated from Tuskegee in Alabama March 25, 1943. He was sent to Italy and assigned to the
Early in the mission Dickson reported engine trouble and notified his base in
During World War II the United States Army was segregated and black pilots had different rules. The black pilots of the Tuskegee Airmen could not qualify for R&R until they completed 70 missions. White pilots could take R&R after 50 missions. Dickson was on his 68th mission when he went missing over Austria.[7]
Recovery and burial
On July 27, 2018, Dickson's remains were identified by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. A local researcher named Roland Domanig discovered the crash site and the human remains. The researcher said he visited the site in the 1950s as a child, but had not discovered the remains until 2002. An archeological crew was sent to the site in 2017 and they recovered bone fragments which matched Lawrence Dickson's daughter's DNA.[5]
Also recovered at the crash site was a 14-karat ring that was inscribed: “P.D.,” with a heart with an arrow through it. The ring also was inscribed “L.E.D. 5-31-43.” P.D. were the initials of his wife Phyllis Dickson. L.E.D. Lawrence E Dickson and May 31, 1943, was his 23rd birthday. The Army also recovered a remnant of a harmonica and a small cross.[8]
On March 22, 2019 Lawrence E. Dickson was laid to rest in a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.[9] Four Air Force jets flew overhead while his daughter and grandchildren attended. His daughter Marla accepted the folded American flag from a kneeling Army General.[8]
Awards
- Congressional Gold Medal 2007
- Distinguished Flying Cross
- Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters
- Purple Heart[3]
Education
Personal life
Lawrence Dickson was born to Agnes C. Dickson and he had two brothers. He was married to Phyllis. Dickson and his wife had a daughter.[4] On July 14, 1942, at Harlem's Sydenham Hospital, Marla Dickson was born.[6]
Dickson's wife did not live to attend the burial of her husband: Phyllis died December 28, 2017, in Nevada at the age of 96.[6]
See also
- Executive Order 9981
- Fly (2009 play about the 332d Fighter Group)
- List of African American Medal of Honor recipients
- List of solved missing person cases
- List of Tuskegee Airmen
- Military history of African Americans
References
- ^ "Capt Lawrence E. Dickson". dpaa.secure.force.com. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ Rice, Markus. "The Men and Their Airplanes: The Fighters." Tuskegee Airmen, 1 March 2000.
- ^ a b "Lawrence E. Dickson". redtail.org. CAF Red Tail Squadron. March 26, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ a b Smolenyak, Megan. "No Man Left Behind: Capt. Lawrence E. Dickson". Medium.com. Medium. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ a b c Daley, Jason. "Remains of Tuskegee Airman Found in Austria". smithsonianmag.com. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ a b c Ruane, Michael E. (June 27, 2018). "Pentagon identifies Tuskegee Airman missing from World War II". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ a b Little, Becky. "Lost Tuskegee Airman's Body May Have Been Found". History.com. A&E Television Networks, LLC. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ a b Ruane, Michael E. (March 30, 2019). "Tuskegee Airman's funeral reminds daughter of life she might have had". Salisbury Post. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ Burial Detail: Dickson, Lawrence Everett (Section 60, Grave 11831) Interment Date: 03/22/2019
Notes
External links
- Lawrence Dickson's Memorial Service
- Tuskegee Airmen at Tuskegee University
- Tuskegee Airmen Archives at the University of California, Riverside Libraries.
- Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.
- Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)
- Tuskegee Airmen National Museum