Bridge will be named for Farmington man who gave his life trying to save others

The scene Friday as Gov. Chris Sununu signs into law several bills including one honoring Major John Lawrence Jr., the brother of Sharon Glidden, just right of the governor. Behind Glidden is husband Malcomb. Inset photo, Lawrence in his jeep in Vietnam.

On Sept. 16, 1971, Army Major John W. Lawrence Jr., of Farmington, was deployed with Military Assistance Command Advisory Team 91 in Binh Duong Province near Tri Tam, just northwest of Saigon.

Upon learning of an ambush of fellow soldiers a short distance away, Lawrence immediately assembled an ad hoc unit to relieve the ambushed group. They sped swiftly in jeeps and other vehicles toward the fighting.

But as the relief column moved to aid their beleaguered comrades they, too, were ambushed. Lawrence, who was in the lead, was badly wounded in the initial exchange but kept on fighting and helped to repulse an initial VC assault before being killed. Much of the unit survived after uniting with other friendly forces, but Lawrence and two others made the ultimate sacrifice.

Lawrence's sister, Sharon Glidden of Farmington, nods her head as she recounts her older brother's final moments as told her by various servicemen who were there.

Major John Lawrence Jr. while on tour in Vietnam, in a photo uploaded to virtualwall.org

"That's the way he was; he was a daredevil and a leader," she said on Sunday at her Farmington home. "Jacky went on ahead. He knew there was a battle up ahead."

Lawrence's heroics will be forever immortalized this Memorial Day when the recently completed Main Street bridge just south of Route 75 will be dedicated in his honor.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu signed the bill authorizing the naming on Friday at an event attended by Glidden and her husband, Malcomb.

Sharon Glidden said growing up she looked up to her brother.

"He was eight years older than me and he used to joke around with me," she giggled. "And I was so naïve I believed everything he said.

Sharon Glidden of Farmington holds a picture of her brother, John Lawrence Jr., on his wedding day. (Rochester Voice photo)

"He was a leader; wherever he went he had lots of people with him. He was a fun person to be with."

And he loved to ski, she said, adding he'd done Tuckerman Ravine.

"He wasn't afraid of anything," she said.

Lawrence, a trained sharpshooter, graduated from West Point in 1961 and spent two tours in Vietnam.

Besides winning a posthumous Silver Star for his gallantry in 1971, he earned an earlier Silver Star on his first tour when he learned from a prisoner there was a North Vietnamese cache of weapons inside a tunnel complex. When no tunnel clearing experts were available, Lawrence, at tremendous risk, entered the tunnel complex himself and secured the weapons cache.

Sharon Glidden said she and her family, especially her brother's two children who lost their father when they were both kids, feel an enormous sense of gratitude and pride that Lawrence's sacrifice will forever be memorialized.

The Main Street bridge over the Cocheco River will be dedicated to Major John W. Lawrence on Memorial Day. (Rochester Voice photo)

"His children are very proud," she said. "He died at 33, when his son was just 2 and his daughter 9."

"They were very excited when they heard the news, and our parents would be proud, too," she said.

Richard Lawrence of Farmington remembers his cousin as a good student and athlete at Farmington High, where he excelled in basketball.

"He was very caring, he used to joke a lot, too," Richard Lawrence said on Sunday. "And he didn't have to go (the day he died). He did it anyway."

Sharon Glidden said the naming of the bridge in her brother's honor would never have happened without the help of his longtime friend Ronnie Chagnon of Farmington; the Farmington Board of Selectmen; state reps Jim Horgan and Joe Petrie and state Senator Jim Gray.

She said after town selectmen voted to name the bridge after Lawrence, it was on to the state where both the Senate and House had to agree, which they did unanimously.

Then to have the governor sign it into law was just so special, she said.

Sharon Glidden said there will be a dedication ceremony on Memorial Day during the parade, but whether the plaque honoring her brother will be ready is still in question.

A fund to pay for the plaque is currently being set up. To make a donation send a check or money order to the American Legion, 526 Main St., Farmington, NH. Make checks payable to The American Legion with a notation "Lawrence plaque fund," Legion Commander Gary Mosher said today.