Arthur S. Lawrence

Guest Entry: Today, I invited my wife Suzanne to blog about her grandfather.

Today when we visited my parents I found out that my dad’s father, my Grandpa Lawrence, was in the army in the 1930’s. Though my dad swore I knew this already, I don’t remember ever having been told this. Regardless, it came as a surprise to me to find out that he served in Hawaii for some of that time. My surprise came from the fact that a couple years ago I read From Here to Eternity by James Jones, the book that the famous movie was based on. Contained in that book are descriptions, often very explicit, about the life of a common infantry soldier in Hawaii before the outbreak of WWII. I didn’t know at the time that I was reading about my grandpa!
Before the war, the lot of the soldier was especially harsh. Many of the men that enlisted, including my grandpa, were desperate for food, shelter, & clothes. The army gave them all that, but in return it exacted a harsh price—brutal beatings, harsh punishments, & complete obedience. Obviously, my grandpa made it through to meet & marry my grandma & live the American Dream, complete with building a business from the ground up & watching it flourish. But knowing this now, & knowing what it entails, I feel as though I know my grandpa like I never would have been able to when he was alive.