William Stevens Lawton (May 16, 1900 – February 26, 1993) was a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and served as the Army's Comptroller.

Early life

Lawton was born on May 16, 1900, in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

, and graduated from Newport's Rogers High School in 1917. From 1917 to 1918, Lawton attended

Worcester Polytechnic Institute '' , mottoeng = "Theory and Practice" , established = , former_name = Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science (1865-1886) , type = Private research university , endowme ...

. He then transferred to the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

, graduating in 1922.

Start of military career

In 1923, Lawton graduated from both the Army's Primary Flying School and its Advanced Flying School Special Observation Course. After completing his aviator qualification, Lawton was assigned to Coastal Artillery Corps postings, including

Fort Adams Fort Adams is a former United States Army post in Newport, Rhode Island that was established on July 4, 1799 as a First System coastal fortification, named for President John Adams who was in office at the time. Its first commander was Capt ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. Lawton graduated from the Artillery School Battery Officer Course in 1930. He then carried out

Coastal Artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...

postings throughout the US and overseas, including the 61st Coast Artillery Battalion at

Fort Sheridan, Illinois Fort Sheridan is a residential neighborhood within the cities of Lake Forest, Illinois, Lake Forest, Highwood, Illinois, Highwood, and Highland Park, Illinois, Highland Park in Lake County, Illinois, Lake County, Illinois, United States. It was or ...

, assignment to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, and a tour of duty at

Fort Winfield Scott Fort Point is a masonry seacoast fortification located on the southern side of the Golden Gate at the entrance to San Francisco Bay. It is also the geographic name of the promontory upon which the fort and the southern approach of the Golden Gat ...

. In 1939, Lawton graduated from both the Chemical Warfare Field Officer Course and the

Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

World War II

From 1941 to 1943, Lawton was Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army's Hawaiian Department. He was present at the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

and later gave Congressional testimony about his experience and observations. Lawton was Deputy Chief of Staff US Army Forces Mid-Pacific, with duty in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

from 1943 to 1946.

Post-World War II

In 1947, Lawton was appointed Assistant Commandant of the Army's

Field Artillery School The United States Army Field Artillery School (USAFAS) trains Field Artillery Soldiers and Marines in tactics, techniques, and procedures for the employment of fire support systems in support of the maneuver commander. The school further develop ...

and Commandant of the school's Seacoast Branch. From 1950 to 1951, Lawton served as Chief of Staff of Army Field Forces, with duty at

Fort Monroe, Virginia Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virg ...

. In 1952, Lawton was assigned as Deputy Chief of Staff for Civil Relations at the US Far East Command, serving until 1953.

Korean War

Lawton was appointed to command the Korean Communication Zone in 1953, and served in this position until 1954. In this high profile rear echelon command, Lawton took steps to improve the perception of the US military among South Korean civilians by implementing Operation Good Will, a successful effort to generate from members of the US military and American civilians contributions of money and other needed items for orphanages, schools and other institutions.

Post-Korean War

In 1955, Lawton was assigned as Director of the Budget Division in the Army's Office of the Comptroller. Lawton was named Comptroller of the Army in 1957, serving until his retirement from the military. From 1958 to 1959, he served as President of the Association of Military Comptrollers. General Lawton retired in 1960.

Awards and decorations

His awards and decorations included multiple awards of the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

and 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 ...

, as well as the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

. In 1973, General Lawton was inducted into the

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...

fraternity's Order of Achievement.

Subsequent career

After leaving the Army, Lawton resided in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

. He accepted a position as Vice President and Vice Chairman of the Board for Government Loan Services Savings and Loan Association, Inc., where he remained until retiring in the 1980s. In 1989 Lawton moved to the Fairfax retirement community at

Fort Belvoir, Virginia A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, where he died February 26, 1993.Social Security Death Index

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawton, William Stevens 1900 births 1993 deaths United States Army generals United States Military Academy alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of the Korean War Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Military personnel from Newport, Rhode Island Military personnel from Bethesda, Maryland Worcester Polytechnic Institute alumni