LAWRENCE, BRUCE E.

Remains Id'd 06/2011

Name: Bruce E. Lawrence
Rank/Branch: USAF O2
Unit:
Date of Birth: 12 January 43
Home City of Record: Phillipsburg, NJ
Date of Loss: 05 July 68
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 171300N 1062800E
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: F4C

Other Personnel In Incident: Edward E. Silver

Source: Compiled by THE P.O.W. NETWORK 02 February 93 from the following
published sources - POW/MIA's -- Report of the Select Committee on POW/MIA
Affairs United States Senate -- January 13, 1993. "The Senate Select
Committee staff has prepared case summaries for the priority cases that the
Administration is now investigating. These provide the facts about each
case, describe the circumstances under which the individual was lost, and
detail the information learned since the date of loss.  Information in the
case summaries is limited to information from casualty files, does not
include any judgments by Committee staff, and attempts to relate essential
facts. The Committee acknowledges that POW/MIAs' primary next-of- kin know
their family members' cases in more comprehensive detail than summarized
here and recognizes the limitations that the report format imposes on these
summaries." 2020

On July 5, 1968, Major Silver and First Lieutenant Lawrence were the crew of
an F-4C on a night armed reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam.  Their
aircraft was hit by hostile anti-aircraft fire.  Their wingman observed
their aircraft turn into a large fireball with streaks of fire trailing out
of the bottom, followed by a second smaller explosion.  There were no
parachutes observed and no beepers heard.  Intense hostile fire prevented a
daylight search of the area.  Both airmen were declared missing in action.
During Operation Homecoming, a returning POW reported seeing a propaganda
film which included the showing of a body in a flight suit.  The returnee
was "almost positive" the name strip on the suit was "Silver."

No returning U.S. POW was able to report either of the missing crewmen in
captivity.  Both were later declared killed in action, body not recovered,
based on a presumptive finding of death.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

01/2020

• Conflict
• Service
• Status
• Date of Accounting

• VIETNAM WAR
• UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
• Accounted For
• 07/15/2011

On July 15, 2011, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Major Bruce Edward Lawrence, missing from the Vietnam War.

Major Lawrence joined the U.S. Air Force from Pennsylvania and was a member of the 557th Tactical Fighter Squadron. On July 5, 1968, he was the navigator aboard an F-4C Phantom II (serial number unknown) on a night armed reconnaissance mission over enemy targets in Quang Binh Province, Vietnam. The Phantom was downed by enemy anti-aircraft fire during the mission, and Maj Lawrence was killed in the crash, but his remains were not recovered at the time. After the war, joint U.S./Vietnamese search teams excavated crash sites in the area of Maj Lawrence's loss, recovering human remains. In 2011, modern forensic techniques identified Maj Lawrence's remains from among those recovered.

Major Lawrence is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

If you are a family member of this serviceman, you may contact your casualty office representative to learn more about your service member.

 

Maj BRUCE EDWARD LAWRENCE

• Unit
• Country of Loss
  VIETNAM
• Home of Record PA