Neal Lawrence, Jr.

1908-2004

Monk, Priest, Diplomat, Teacher, Artist, and Poet

Education and War * Peace and Decision * Tanka Poet

William Henry Lawrence, later to take the religious name Neal Henry, was born on 22 January 1908 in Clarksville, Tennessee.

From the age of ten Henry Jr. wanted to be a doctor. "The family doctor in Clarksville, Tennessee, had a great influence on me," he recalls. "He lived about three doors down from my grandmother's and would invite me to go with him on calls."

The doctor would come around in his horse and buggy and take Henry out in tobacco country to visit patients at their homes. "I'd wait outside in the buggy," he remembers. "People that he called on told me what a wonderful doctor he was and how they got well after he came to see them. So a doctor seemed to be the most wonderful person to me. I never thought of being anything else."

College Years

After graduating from Louisville Male High School in 1925, he received a scholarship from a leading Louisville, Kentucky, company to attend a college. He chose Harvard College. True to his dreams, he embarked on a premedical degree, but quickly discovered that there was more to college life during the pre-Depression days than was taught in biology.

"About my second year at Harvard, I changed my mind about spending all of my time learning science. I was interested in more than just physics and zoology, so I changed my major to English literature, studying mostly poetry from Chaucer to modern authors, both British and American."

Lever Brothers

He received his B.A. in English literature with enough science credits to continue on to medical school, if he desired. "Because I didn't have enough money for medical school, I decided to work so that I could continue my education. At that time, Lever Brothers Company--one of America's leading manufacturers of soap, food, and health-care products--had a policy of hiring one or two Harvard graduates each year. I guess they thought my pre-med background would be useful in working with their new products; my English degree may also have indicated writing aptitude. Anyway, I was impressed by their reputation, they were impressed by me, and I went to work for them."

Along with a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate, he was hired. The company heaped responsibility on him right from the start. Soon he was involved in nearly every aspect of developing new products at an annual salary of $1,560. The job was interesting, and he was ambitious. His goal in life shifted to becoming a successful businessman.

For the next fifteen years, he worked his way up through the company step by step. "Like most people at that time, I had money in mind," he admits. "I was going to earn a million dollars, travel, and enjoy the theater and musical world of Boston. I wanted to do everything that one could do to enjoy life to the fullest."

He attended concerts of the Boston Symphony Orchestra every Saturday night. He traveled, too, to Central America, the Caribbean, and Canada. And his salary rose steadily.

World War II

If World War II had not broken out, he might have continued his successful career to become one of the company's top executives. But, like most young men at that time, he was eager to serve his country directly. A strong sense of duty to America and its ideals prompted him to turn down an extension of his draft deferment in 1943 and accept a commission in the navy. Nothing his Lever Brothers employers said could dissuade him, although they promised to have a position waiting for him when the war ended.

He was stationed at the Naval Supply Depot in Norfolk, Virginia, as Officer in charge of Progress which meant seeing that supplies for advance bases and ships were received as contracted. When a call for volunteers for Military Government came, he sought permission to join. He was intensely interested as it meant the turn of the tide, i.e. taking over areas after the marines conquered them. After persisting, he was sent to Columbia University to study for military government, with special emphasis on southern China and Taiwan. Finally, the war had speeded up so after six months, orders came to go to Fort Ord in California and then to go to Guadelcanal for staging, prior to an invasion of the mainland.

Okinawa and Japan

"When we were on board ship, we found out the target was Okinawa," he recalls. "My instructions were to teach Japanese. Well, I knew some Chinese, but I didn't know any Japanese at all. My superior officer simply replied, 'Here's a book, do it.'"

The day of the invasion was Easter Sunday, he remembers. "On the second day of the invasion, the bell for general quarters sounded, and we were told we were going ashore. I was dressed in full marine regalia, including a carbine, a 45 pistol and a blanket. Fortunately, there was a six-by-six truck in our landing craft, so we rode ashore without even getting our feet wet. We slept under it the first few nights, too. The shrapnel might have killed us otherwise."

The duty of Father Lawrence and the sailors assigned was to round up the civilians and the animals in the invasion area and keep them away from the fighting. "For the first month, I didn't have time to do anything other than what I was told. I do remember hoping I wouldn't get killed, but I wasn't afraid."

Education and War * Peace and Decision * Tanka Poet

Some of the above information has been taken from the magazine article, "The Winding Path to St. Anselm's" by Thomas Ainlay, written in 1980, for PHP, A Forum for a Better World. Other materal has been obtained from letters, memos, and other published ariticles. Editor: Tom Gillespie.

Neal Henry Lawrence OSB * Fujimi Monastery * Obituary

Saint John's Abbey