Charles S. Lawrence (December 22, 1892 – June 12, 1970) was a United States Army colonel who would survive the Bataan Death March to later become the first Executive Vice President of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT).

Early life and career

A native of Guyton, Georgia, Lawrence enlisted in the United States Army in 1915 where he served for 33 years, including both World War I and World War II.

Assignment to the Philippines

By the start of World War II, Lawrence was a lieutenant-colonel in the United States Army Quartermaster Corps serving in the Philippines when

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

invaded the country on December 22, 1941, as part of the Asian nation's Pacific conquests, now known as the Battle of the Philippines. During this time, the quartermasters (including Lawrence) attempted to purchase as much food as possible to outlast the invaders, but were stopped by their own commanding generals. This accounted for losses of 10 million pounds of rice as a result in one instance. In Lawrence's case at Tarlac where he served as depot commander, he had planned on seizing about 2,000 cases of canned food, mostly fish and

corned beef Corned beef, or salt beef in some of the Commonwealth of Nations, is Salt-cured meat, salt-cured brisket of beef. The term comes from the treatment of the meat with large-grained rock salt, also called "corns" of salt. Sometimes, sugar and sp ...

, and a large amount of clothing from Japanese firms stationed in the Philippines, but was refused by General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

's headquarters claiming that Lawrence had no right to confiscate these items. In fact, MacArthur's staff threatened the lieutenant-colonel with court martial if he attempted to take those supplies. The supplies were not taken as a result and were later destroyed during the Battle of Bataan.

World War II

During the battle, food supplies became so scarce that soldiers became hunters in an effort to stay alive. Even though American and Filipino forces would be victorious in early battles, they could not hold on and Bataan fell on April 8, 1942. Lawrence was among the 15,000 Americans who surrendered with 60,000 Filipinos and were forced into the Bataan Death March. He survived the march and would spend the rest of the war as a prisoner of war. Lawrence was discharged from the US Army in 1948 after the end of World War II. He would earn the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

, the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Mexican Border Service Medal, the World War I Victory Medal, the

Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal Asiatic refers to something related to Asia. Asiatic may also refer to: * Asiatic style, a term in ancient stylistic criticism associated with Greek writers of Asia Minor * In the context of Ancient Egypt, beyond the borders of Egypt and the cont ...

, the World War II Victory Medal, and the American Defense of the Pacific medal.

Institute of Food Technologists service

After retirement from the Army, Lawrence agreed to become the first Executive Secretary (now Executive Vice President) of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in 1949. He took over the secretary's role from Carl R. Fellers, head of the

food technology Food technology is a branch of food science that deals with the production, preservation, quality control and research and development of the food products. Early scientific research into food technology concentrated on food preservation. Nic ...

department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and moved the national offices to its present location in Chicago. Lawrence's tenure as Executive Secretary would see IFT grow from 3,000 members in 1949 to 6,000 members at the time of his retirement from the IFT in 1961.

Post-IFT activities

Following IFT, Lawrence served as advisor to the president of the National Florasynth Laboratory in Chicago until he retired for good in 1963. He and his wife then moved to Romney, West Virginia, where he lived until his death in 1970. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

References

* Goldblith, S.A. (1993). ''Pioneers in Food Science, Volume 1: Samuel Cate Prescott – M.I.T. Dean and Pioneer Food Technologist.'' Trumball, CT: Food & Nutrition Press. p. 102. * "In Memoriam: Calvert L. Willey." ''Food Technology.'' June 1994. pp. 20–21.

External links

Arlington National Cemetery information on Lawrence

A history of food science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst 1918-93.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Charles S. 1892 births 1970 deaths United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army personnel of World War II Bataan Death March prisoners Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Businesspeople from Georgia (U.S. state) Businesspeople from Chicago People from Effingham County, Georgia People from Romney, West Virginia Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army colonels World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Businesspeople from West Virginia 20th-century American businesspeople Military personnel from Illinois