Title: Mortimer M. Lawrence Papers and Photographs
Inclusive Dates: 1917-1981

Creator:

• Lawrence, Mortimer M.

Call Number: WVM Mss 710

Quantity: 0.8 linear ft. (2 archives boxes and 2 oversize folders) of papers and 0.4 linear ft. (1 archives box) of photographs.

Repository:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum
Have questions? Contact the Reference Archivist

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum (Map)

See the catalog entry for current shelf locations and additions.

Abstract:

Papers and photographs of Mortimer M. Lawrence, a 1st lieutenant and aerial observer with the 104th Aero Squadron of the Army Signal Corps during World War I. The bulk of the collection consists of the letters that Lawrence wrote to his parents during his stateside training and his World War I military service in France. The letters describe the major events of Lawrence's service as a pilot such as his Army basic training at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, training in observation flights at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, his promotions and duties as an officer, and shooting down the last German plane of the war. Also discussed are the accommodations, food, and recreation available to Lawrence and his squadron both stateside and in Europe. Newspaper clippings and military papers, including his officer's record book and AEF identification cards, along with newspaper clippings describe his role in shooting down the final enemy aircraft in the war. The photographs include candid shots from stateside training and Europe, as well as many aerial photographs of European vistas taken by Lawrence during the war.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.wvm-mss00710

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Mortimer Mertz Lawrence was born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin on August 9, 1890. He attended local schools and, upon graduating from high school, spent one year at Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana. He took classes in civil engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and also joined the R.O.T.C., but did not graduate. When the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, Lawrence was working in the civil engineering department at the Western Malleables Company in Chicago. He enrolled in Officer's Training School in Fort Sheridan, Illinois in May 1917 but was discharged in July because he did not meet the weight requirements of the program. Lawrence almost immediately enlisted into the regular Army in Chicago. Assigned to the 41st Infantry he spent a brief time at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis before going to quarantine at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. There he acted as a drill master while the Army discerned whether any of the men in the unit had communicable diseases.

Lawrence impressed his superior officers, who chose him to go to aerial observer school at Fort Sill, Oklahoma at the beginning of September. There he received training on how to photograph enemy positions from the air and direct artillery. He took his first flight on October 28. He went to Garden City, New York to await shipment to Europe in November 1917. On January 4, 1918 he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant and one week later sailed across the Atlantic. In March he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant and in August he was assigned to the 104th Aero Squadron where he did a lot of administrative work and also flew missions as an observer. He earned a silver star for bravery on an October 30 mission. On November 10, he went out on an observation mission with two other planes and encountered some enemy aircraft. Using his plane's rear machine gun, he fired upon the German planes and is credited with shooting one down that turned out to be the final German plane shot down during the war.

He returned to the United States in May 1919 and was discharged in June. He returned to Beaver Dam, where he remained for the rest of his life with his wife Lenore. Lawrence passed away on December 19, 1960 in Beaver Dam.

The papers of Mortimer M. Lawrence are divided into two series: Papers and Photographs.

Papers (1917-1981) consists largely of the letters that Lawrence wrote home to his parents during his military service from enlistment through his return home. He wrote relatively long letters on a regular basis, thus this series contains a plethora of information about training to be an aerial observer in the World War I era and executing the task in the skies over France and Germany. Letters written from stateside training described military life, recreation, as well as the actual training. Lawrence also wrote often of his earnest desire to go overseas and participate in the war. An October 28 letter contained his feelings after his first flight at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Once overseas, his letters became slightly less frequent and his awareness of censors limited the amount of information he could share with his family. He wrote about the conditions in Europe, both among the people and the landscape. He wrote about his ground duties, which often involved scheduling pilots for flights. A November 11 letter described shooting down a German plane, which was regarded as the last German plane shot down in the war. His November 24 letter, written after censorship had been lifted, related his travels in Europe and the actions of his unit in the war. Other correspondence, written after Lawrence's death, relate to his widow's unsuccessful attempt to get him a posthumous Distinguished Service Cross and a military collector's attempt to get Lawrence's wing badge. There are also letters exchanged with John W. Stuart Gilchrist, author of a book about the 104th Aero Squadron. Also included in this series are military papers from his wartime service including General Order No. 5 (January 28, 1919) crediting Lawrence with shooting down an enemy plane on the afternoon of November 10, 1918. The officer's record book, AEF identification cards, and discharge certificates provide further details about his service. Several newspaper clippings about his World War I service, including his role in shooting down the last German plane, and several membership cards to veterans organizations can also be found in this series.

Photographs (1917-1919) contains the pages from a scrapbook of Lawrence's military service. Included in the pages are candid photographs from his stateside training as well as overseas service which often feature fellow soldiers and airmen but rarely Lawrence himself. Many aerial photographs of French and German landscapes, taken by Lawrence during the war, can also be found within the scrapbook. Other photographs include official Army shots of important people and events in World War I. The scrapbook pages hold a small amount of ephemera, such as unit rosters and copies of orders. The series also contains a copy print of Lawrence in uniform from 1918. A few items were removed from the scrapbook for preservation purposes; they are General Order No. 5 (box 2, Folder 14), a map (box Ov16, Folder 5), and a miscellaneous report (box 2, folder 9).

Acquisition Information

Presented by Richard Lawrence, San Diego, CA, 2003. Accession Number: Mss 2003.14 and Mss 2003.223. This collection was organized as a result of the National Historic Publications and Records Commission project grant (2003-075).

Processing Information

Processed by Russell Horton in 2004.

	Series: Papers
Box   1 Folder   1	Biographical data, undated
	Subseries: Correspondence	⇧
Box   1 Folder   2	From Mortimer M. Lawrence, 1917
Box   1 Folder   3-14	To Thomas Lawrence (father), 1917-1919
Box   2 Folder   1	Assorted transcriptions, 1917-1919
Box   2 Folder   2	To Katinka Treichel (sister), 1917-1918
	To Mortimer M. Lawrence
Box   2 Folder   3	From Albert Mertz (uncle), 1917
Box   2 Folder   4	From Mortimer Mertz (uncle), 1917
Box   2 Folder   5	From William Morgan, 1918, 1960
	Post-humous
Box   2 Folder   6	Re: Distinguished Service Cross, 1969
Box   2 Folder   7	Re: Gilchrist book on 104th Aero Squadron, 1968
Box   2 Folder   8	Re: Wing badge, 1980-1981
Box   2 Folder   9	Military papers, 1918
Box   2 Folder   10	American Expeditionary Force identification cards, circa 1918
Ov   10 Folder   12	Awards/Citations, 1918-1919
Box   2 Folder   11	Discharge certificates, 1918-1919
Box   2 Folder   12	Ephemera, 104th Aero Squadron Stationery, circa 1918
Ov   16 Folder   5	Maps, 1918
Box   2 Folder   13	Officer's record book, 1917-1918
Box   2 Folder   14	Orders, 1919
Box   2 Folder   15	Roster, 104th Aero Squadron, circa 1918
Box   2 Folder   16-17	Newspaper clippings, 1917-1919
Box   2 Folder   18	Veterans organization membership cards, 1958, 1961
	Series: Photographs	⇧
Box   3 Folder   1	Mortimer M. Lawrence [1] , 1918
Box   3 Folder   2-3	Aerial photographs [13] , 1918
Box   3 Folder   4-6	Photograph scrapbook, 1917-1919