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North
High School Wall of Honor
Robert Dale Lawson
Class of June, 1946
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Research done by Claradell Shedd, class of 1953. |
| Robert Dale Lawson |
Robert
Dale Lawson graduated from North High in the June, 1946
class. Scholastically he ranked 113 in the class of 216.
His next of kin was shown as Mr. Waldo J. Lawson living
at 3514 Second Avenue, Des Moines, IA.
On August 12, 1946, Bob enlisted at the US Recruiting Office
in the Old Federal Building located by the Polk County Court
House at 5th and Court in Des Moines and was assigned to
the First Marine Air Wing. At the time of enlistment, Bob
was single with no dependents. Bob's service number was
627526. |
|
| Robert Dale Lawson |
|
| Year |
x |
Rank/Event |
x |
Status |
|
| August 12, 1946 |
x |
Enlisted
US Marines |
x |
Enlisted at US Recruiting Office
in the Old Federal Building located by the Polk County Court
House at 5th and Court in Des Moines. |
| August, 1946 |
x |
US Marines |
x |
Boot camp at San Diego, CA |
after
boot camp |
x |
US Marines |
x |
While
in boot camp, he volunteered to be part of "Recruit
Marines" from the North High Swim Team in Des Moines
which trained after hours for the 11th Naval District swimming
championships. We won it for the Recruit Depot. Bob won
the Individual Medley Sprint Championship. |
| 1947 |
x |
 |
x |
*Following graduation
and after a ten-day leave, Bob joined El Toro, 1st MAW (Marine
Air Wing), Headquarters Squadron , Special Services with
camp newspaper, "Flight Jacket" as writer and
cartoonist. Contributed in cartooning and had a hand in
the final drawing of the camp mascot, "the Flying Bull."
(shown below with insignias/patches) In 1945, Congress had
designated the 1st MAW permanent home at El Toro, West Coast
Marine Corps Air Station. Bob remained there until lplaced
on inactive duty in March, 1948. While at El Toro, he again
joined the base swimming team, taking part in AAU and Open
Swim meets in Southern California. He was once again a member
of El Toro's winning 11th Naval District Swimming Championships. |
| March,
1948 |
x |
US Marines/Cpl |
x |
Released from active
duty as an inactive reservist. |
| Sept.
4, 1948 |
x |
Family |
x |
Bob met and married
Gerry Smith and are still shared their lives together for
over 63 years. |
| March,
1948-October, 1950 |
x |
x |
x |
Bob enrolled in
classes at Drake University. Carried as many hours as possible
toward teaching and coaching degree, but when trouble erupted
in Korea, Bob was recalled to active duty. Faced with digging
a fox hole in solid rock or enjoying a moving fox hole,
Bob joined the newly-formed 7th Tank Battalion, 3rd Marine
Division, FMF-PAC. He joined 7th Tanks in Headquarters Company
at **Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, CA and, when enough men
were assigned, they moved training to Camp Pendleton to
train the Letter Companies as overseas replacements. Using
both M-26 and the newer M-46, the training went so well
that the Big Brass decided plans for the 3rd Division were
dropped and all were reassigned to the 1st Marine Division.
Bob was reassigned to Special Services as Recreational Director
for the Letter Companies in training. Qualified as "expert"
with an M-1 rifle on range during Korean training (only
4 shots out of bull's eye at 500 yards). |
| date |
x |
Schooling |
x |
Drake University,
BSE, MA in Education |
| October,
1951 |
x |
Discharged |
x |
Released from active
duty and discharged |
| 1955-1990 |
x |
Civilian |
x |
Teaching and coaching
at North High School |
| 1990 |
x |
Induction |
x |
Inducted into the
North High Athletic Hall of Fame |
| 2010 |
x |
Civilian |
x |
Relocated to Las
Vegas, NV |
| Aug.
25, 2011 |
x |
Deceased |
x |
Las Vegas, NV. To
be eventually interred at Veterans Cemetery, Van Meter,
IA. Date now set for May 18, 2012. |
|
*El
Toro, CA
Into 1945, El Toro continued the training of fighter, scout-bomber,
and torpedo-bomber pilots. At the end of March, 266 aircraft were
on hand including 21 Convair OY Sentinel artillery spotters in
a temporary storage pool. In May, VMF-217 arrived from the South
Pacific for reorganization and training for escort carrier duty.
By June, the training of Grumman F6F Hellcat replacement pilots
had begun. The Navy needed the Corsairs for anti-Kamikaze duty
on board Essex Class carriers and gave the Marines the Hellcat
for the escort carrier program. In July, VMTB-453 was formed for
escort carrier duty. The war ended with almost 400 aircraft pre
sent. From a former bean field, El Toro had grown to a station
of 4,000 acres, 9.2 miles of roads, 660,000-sq. yd. of runways
and taxiways, 139,281 sq. yd. of aircraft ramps, a 10-mile water
system, and a 10-mile sewer system.
Following the war, the Marines used El Toro
for the decommissioning of squadrons and demobilization of personnel.
In October 1946, the headquarters of the Commander of Marine
Air West Coast moved to El Toro from Miramar. El Toro was scheduled
to close by May 31, 1947, but the plan changed. Miramar closed
instead and El Toro was selected to be the center for Marine
aviation on the West Coast. The station's runways were extended
for jet operations. In 1949, the First Marine Air Wing and the
command unit, Aircraft, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific arrived
at El Toro and were consolidated.
**Camp Pendleton
The Battalion reactivated 1 October 1949 at Camp Pendleton,
California, as the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division,
Fleet Marine Force. It was redesignated 7 July 1950 as the 1st
Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Provisional Marine Brigade, Fleet
Marine Force. It deployed during August 1950 to Korea , and
was redesignated 13 September 1950 as the 1st Battalion, 5th
Marines, 1st Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force. the unit participated
in the Korean War Operating from Pusan Perimeter, Inchon-Seoul,
Chosin Reservoir, East Central Front, and Western Front. It
participated in the defense of the Korean Demilitarized Zone
from July 1953 to February 1955. The Battalion relocated during
March 1955 to Camp Pendleton, California.
|
| Division Assignments |
 |
| 1946-1948 |
 |
At enlistment was assigned
to First Marine Air Wing on August 12, 1946 until release
on March 17, 1948 to inactive duty. |
| 1950-1951 |
 |
Recalled to active duty on
October 5, 1950. Assigned to newly-formed 7th Tank Battalion,
3rd Marine Division, FMF-PAC. |
| 1951-1951 |
 |
Battalion became permanent
training battalion in Spring of 1951 and was reassigned
to the 1st Marine Division and remained until discharge
on November 13, 1951. |
|
| Dates of Service; Active
and Inactive |
|
| Enlistment |
August 12, 1946 |
| to Inactive |
March 17, 1948 |
| Total Active Duty |
1 year, 7 mon, 5 da |
|
| Recalled to Active |
October 12, 1950 |
| Retd Inactive; Discharged |
November 13, 1950 |
| Total Active Duty |
1 year, 1 mo, 1 da |
|
| Total Active Duty |
2 years, 8 mo, 7 da |
| Total Enlistment; Active
& Inactive |
5 years, 3 mos, 1 da |
|
 |
 |
left
above: Training at Camp Pendleton;
Drake: Graduate and undergraduate
degrees from Drake
left below: Enlisted at Federal Building in Des Moines
right below: El Toro, CA |
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|
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left;
Fall, 1946:
PVT Donald Jean Heimbaugh,
PVT Walter Jay Conkey, Jr.,
PVT Robert Dale Lawson
Below: Lawson Cartoons |
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Robert
"Bob" Dale Lawson
Corporal
1st Marine Air Wing
Third Division FMF
First Division FMF
US Marine Corps
|
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World War II Victory Medal; National Defense
Medal; American Campaign Medal;
Marine Good Conduct Medal; Korean Defense Service Medal;
United Nations Service Medal/Korea; Korean Service Medal
Rifle Expert Badge/M-1 |
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| 07/30/11:
Relocated to Las Vegas, NV in 2010. Died 08/25/11. |
| Music:
"Semper Fidelis" |
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