Lawrence Everett Dickson (May 31, 1920 – December 23, 1944) was an American pilot and a member of the famed group of the World War II-era Tuskegee Airmen. Dickson flew 68 mission in World War II before he was forced to eject from his aircraft over Austria in 1944. Dickson was declared missing in action. On July 27, 2018, Dickson's remains were identified by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

Military service

Dickson graduated from Tuskegee in Alabama March 25, 1943. He was sent to Italy and assigned to the

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. On December 23, 1944, Dickson was on his 68th mission piloting his aircraft as part of a mission to Prague, Czechoslovakia. On the return flight he ejected from his P-51 aircraft over Austria. The aircraft was flipped upside down and Dickson was declared missing in action. Early in the mission Dickson reported engine trouble and notified his base in Ramitelli, Italy that he needed to return. Dickson broke from the mission and two wingmen escorted Dickson's sputtering plane. The trio gradually lost altitude, and Dickson looked for a spot to land or bail out. One of Dickson's wingmen (Martin) thought they were near the town of Tarvisio, in a mountainous area of northeastern Italy. Dickson's two wingmen followed but they were forced to take evasive action when Dickson's plane sputtered and dove: Dickson's engine trouble was catastrophic and he was forced to eject over Hohenthurn, Austria. One of Dickson's wingmen insisted that he saw Dickson eject but the December snowfall complicated the search for Dickson's white parachute. Dickson was declared missing in action. After the war it was revealed that German records had reported that a P-51 plane crashed at that site the day that Dickson disappeared. During World War II the United States Army was segregated and black pilots had different rules. The black pilots of the Tuskegee Airmen could not qualify for R&R until they completed 70 missions. White pilots could take R&R after 50 missions. Dickson was on his 68th mission when he went missing over Austria.

Recovery and burial

On July 27, 2018, Dickson's remains were identified by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. A local researcher named Roland Domanig discovered the crash site and the human remains. The researcher said he visited the site in the 1950s as a child, but had not discovered the remains until 2002. An archeological crew was sent to the site in 2017 and they recovered bone fragments which matched Lawrence Dickson's daughter's DNA. Also recovered at the crash site was a 14-karat ring that was inscribed: “P.D.,” with a heart with an arrow through it. The ring also was inscribed “L.E.D. 5-31-43.” P.D. were the initials of his wife Phyllis Dickson. L.E.D. Lawrence E Dickson and May 31, 1943, was his 23rd birthday. The Army also recovered a remnant of a harmonica and a small cross. On March 22, 2019, Lawrence E. Dickson was laid to rest in a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.Burial Detail: Dickson, Lawrence Everett (Section 60, Grave 11831) Interment Date: 03/22/2019
/ref> Four Air Force jets flew overhead while his daughter and grandchildren attended. His daughter Marla accepted the folded American flag from a kneeling Army General.

Awards

* Congressional Gold Medal 2007 * Distinguished Flying Cross * Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters * Purple Heart

Education

Tuskegee Institute 1943

Personal life

Lawrence Dickson was born to Agnes C. Dickson and he had two brothers. He was married to Phyllis. Dickson and his wife had a daughter. On July 14, 1942, at Harlem's

Sydenham Hospital Sydenham Hospital was a healthcare facility in Harlem, Manhattan, New York, which operated between 1892 and 1980. It was located at 124 Street and Manhattan Avenue. History Sydenham opened in 1892, occupying nine houses on 116th Street near 2nd ...

, Marla Dickson was born. Dickson's wife did not live to attend the burial of her husband: Phyllis died December 28, 2017, in Nevada at the age of 96.

References

Notes

External links

Lawrence Dickson's Memorial Service

Tuskegee Airmen
at Tuskegee University
Tuskegee Airmen Archives
at the University of California, Riverside Libraries.
Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.

(

U.S. National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properties ...

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Tuskegee Airmen National Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickson, Lawrence 1920 births 1944 deaths 1940s missing person cases Aerial disappearances of military personnel in action Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Italy Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Formerly missing people Military personnel from Tuskegee, Alabama Missing in action of World War II Missing person cases in Italy Military personnel from New York (state) Military personnel from the Bronx Tuskegee Airmen Tuskegee University alumni United States Army Air Forces personnel killed in World War II Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1944 World War II pilots