Intrepid (CVS 11) - Naval Cruise Book

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Rear Admins' Jemfas XXf,Q'Grad MMANDEP2 Ci,f3xRRlffQ DIN f NEON

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.John Cieig Lawrence was born in Wilbur, WashingTon, on November 3, l9l7, son of Perry W. and Blanche lBeanI Lawrence. He aTTended Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane, WashingTon, prior To enTering The U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, on appoinTmenT from his naTive sTaTe in l935. Graduafed and commissioned Ensign on June l, l03Q, he subsequenfly advanced in rank To ThaT of CapTain, To daTe from July l, l958. Following graduarion from The Naval Academy in l939, he joined The USS WEST VIRGINIA and was on board ThaT baTTleShip when she was sunk on December 7, l911l, during The Japanese aTTack on The FleeT aT Pearl Har- bor. He nexf had duTy as Padio Officer on The Sfaff of Commander BaTTleships, BaTTle Force, Pacific FleeT, and in Febrgary l9:12 reporfed for flighf Training aT The Naval Air STaTion, Pensacola, Florida. DesignaTed Naval Avi- afar in SepTember of ThaT year, he was Then assigned To Parrol Squadron EIGHTY-TWO and in February l9lI3 Trans- ferred To Bombing Squadron ONE HUNDPED THIPTY TWO To serve as ExecuTive Officer and PaTrol Plane Com- mander. While aTTached To The laTTer he parTicipaTed in a nighT aTTack on a German submarine in The STraiTs f o Florida in May l943. ln December l9113 ThaT squadron was deployed To PorT LyauTey, The firsT rockeT squadron To operaTe in ThaT area. He had refresher Training in Torpedo planes aT The Naval Air STaTion, ForT Lauderdale, Florida, during The period June To SepTember ICMA, Then assumed command of Torpedo Squadron TEN, based on board The USS INTPEPID. In ThaT assignmenT he parTicipaTed in sTrikes on Japan and Okinawa and laTer in occupaTion flighTs over Korea and The Yellow Sea. He was awarded The DisTinguished Flying Cross and The Navy Cross and was ciTed as follows DisTinguished Flying Cross: For heroism and exTraordinary achievemenT...as Leader of a Squadron of Torpedo Planes aTTached To The USS INTPEPID, in acTion againsT enemy Japanese forces on Kyushu, Japan, March l8, l945. Leading his squadron in a glideibombing aTTack on hosTile Naval air insTallaTions despiTe anTiaircrafT fire and adverse weafher condiTions which necessiTaTed low flying, LieuTenanT Commander Lawrence personally scored four desTrucTive bomb hiTs on a large hangar, while The resT of his squadron scored many more hiTs on hangars, parked aircraft, fuel Tanks and ofher enemy insTallaTions, resulTing in severe damage To The air base .... Navy Cross: For exTraordinary heroism as FlighT Leader of a Group of Torpedo Planes...in acTion againsf enemy Japanese forces in The viciniTy of Kyushu, April 7, l945. Leading and direcTing a skillfully planned aTTack on maior hosTile FleeT uniTs, including a baTTleship, a cruiser and nine desTroyers, LieuTenanT Commander Law- rence aTTacked a large desTroyer in The face of inTense and accuraTe anTiaircrafT fire and under unfavorable weaTh- er condiTions, scoring a direcT hiT wiTh his Torpedo, which conTribuTed maferially To The sinking of The vessel im- mediaTely afTer The aTTack .... He was also awarded The Air Medal and a Gold STar in lieu of The Second Air Medal for compleTing Ten missions during The period March 23 To April 6, l945. Assigned in November l9LI5 To The U.S. Naval Academy, he was an lnsTrucTor in Physics unTil The DeparTmenT of AviaTion was esTablished in l91I7, Then became an lnsTrucTor in ThaT DeparTmenT. He conTinued To serve as such unTil July l9118, when he reporTed as Execufive Officer and Plane Commander of Air TransporT Squadron ONE. In January l95O he joined The STaff of Commander FleeT LogisTic Air Wing, ATlanTic, as Operafions Officer, and in July l95l was deTached for insTrucTion aT The Armed Forces STaff College, Norfolk, Virginia. Complefing The course There in January l952, he nexT had duTy in The Air Base Mobilizafion SecTion, AviaTion War Plans Division, Office of The Chief of Naval OperaTions, Navy DeparTmenT, WashingTon, D.C. During The period SepTember To November l954 he aTTended refresher courses, aTTached To Air Force, Pacific FleeT, afTer which he had duTy as ExecuTive Officer of The USS CUPTISS. PeTurning To The Office of The Chief of Naval OperaTions, Navy DeparTmenT in March l956, he was AviaTion Member wiTh The General Planning Group un- Til Augusf l959 and The nexT monTh assumed command of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron TWELVE. In OcTober l960 he reporTed as Commanding Officer of The USS MAPIAS CAO-575 and from OcTober l96l To March 1963 was AssisTanT Chief of The Bureau of Naval Personnel for ProperTy ManagemenT, Navy DeparTmenT. He is now com- manding The USS INTPEPID lCVS-l II. In addiTion To The Navy Cross, The DisTinguished Flying Cross and The Air Medal wiTh Gold STar, Capfain Law- rence has The American Defense Service Medal wiTh STar, American Campaign Medal, AsiaTic-Pacific Campaign Medal wiTh Two engagemenT sTars, European-African-Middle EasTern Campaign Medal, World War ll VicTory Medal, China Service Medal, Navy OccupaTion Service Medal, Asia Clasp, and The Nafional Defense Service Medal. His official home address is Spokane, WashingTon. He is married To The former MargareT Handy of Annapolis, Maryland, and They have one daughTer, Virginia Lawrence. CapTain Lawrence aTTended The UniversiTy of Maryland Law School, l9lI6 To i948 and in February 1953 gradu- aTed MTH The degree of Bachelor of Laws from George WashingTon UniversiTy, WashingTon, D.C. He subsequenfly sTudied for his lf:asTer's degree in Business AdminisTraTion aT American UniversiTy, WashingTon, D.C. He is a member of Ili? Maryland Bar, The Bar of The UniTed STaTes Supreme CourT and CourT of Milifary Appeals.

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Rear Admiral James W. O'Grady relieved Rear Admiral Noel Gayler as Commander, Carrier Division TWENTY in Change of Command ceremonies held aboard the flagship aircraft carrier, USS lNTREPlD QCVS-l lj, while at sea on August fl, l963. The event, taking place on the carrier's flight deck, gave Admiral O'Grady command of Antisubmarine Carrier Group FOUR of the Atlantic Fleet. ln assuming command of Carrier Division TWENTY, Rear Admiral O'Grady continues a successful Naval career which began with his commission as Ensign upon graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in l936. Barn in Burlington, Vermont, October l2, l9l2, he was reared in Western New York State and graduated from high school in Lockport, New York. l-le was appointed to the Naval Academy in l932, and graduated with a Bach- elor of Science degree. Upon graduation he reported aboard the battleship USS TENNESSEE where he served two years in the engineer- ing, communications and gunnery departments. ln June, l938, Admiral O'Grady began flight instruction at NAS, Pensacola, Florida, and was designated a Naval Aviator in September l939. Before returning to Pensacola as an aviation instructor in l911l, he performed duties as Gunnery Officer of Bombing Squadron SEVENTY-ONE, which was embarked on the aircraft carrier USS WASP. During World War ll Admiral O'Grady served in both the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters on board USS PYBUS and USS WAKE lSLAND, both small carriers. The WAKE ISLAND was awarded the Navy Unit Citation for actions in battles at lwo Jima, Linguyan Gulf, and Okinawa in the Pacific, and was credited with sinking a German U- boat while conducting hunter-killer tactics in the North Atlantic. Following the close of World War ll in l9115, Admiral O'Grady reported ashore for duty at the Bureau of Ord- nance, Washington, D.C., where he served in the Aviation Ordnance Maintenance Section. Following this duty in l9-48, Admiral O'Grady was Commander Carrier Air Group ELEVEN on the USS VALLEY FORGE. ln 19119, he was Assistant Operations Officer on the Staff of Commander Air Force, Pacific, and in l95O he reported for a two- year tour of duty as Aide and Flag Lieutenant to Admiral A.W. Radford, then Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet. Admiral O'Grady returned for a year of shore duty in 1952 as a student at the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, prior to assuming duties as Executive Officer of the carrier USS KEARSARGE CCV-33D homeported at San Diego, California. ln July, l95l1, he again reported to Washington, spending two years in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as Military Assistant to the Deputy Defense Secretary, the l-lonorable Robert B. Anderson. Returning to sea in 1956, Admiral O'Grady took his first command as Captain of the USS VALCOUR QAVP-55l, a small seaplane tender homeported at Norfolk, Virginia, and deployed for six months to the Persian Gulf. Fol- lowing a two-year billet in the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, he assumed com- mand ofthe attack aircraft carrier USS INDEPENDENCE CCVA-625. Admiral OlGrady in i960 was appointed Chief of Staff to Commander Carrier Division SIX, who at the time was Admiral D.L. McDonald, the present Chief of Naval Operations. l-le was relieved of this duty aboard the flagship USS SARATOGA in Palermo, Sicily. Following his duty with Carrier Division SlX, Admiral O'Grady reported to overseas shore duty in Japan where he was Pacific Command Operations Liaison Officer, at Fuchu Air Station, l-leadauarters of the Commander, United States Forces in Japan. Returning to the United States in August l963, he boarded the flagship USS lNTREPlD to assume command of Carrier Division TWENTY and Task Group 83.11. Rear Admiral O'Grady is married to the former Miss Virginia l'lelen Knowles of Lockport, New York. They pre- sently reside with their two sons, James, Jr., and Thomas, in Virginia Beach, Virginia.