Bobby L. Lawrence was born on June 9, 1923, in Forsyth County, North Carolina. He was the son of Eugene Edward Lawrence and Lalar McGee Lawrence. He spent most of his life in the vicinity of Winston-Salem and was a paper carrier for the Journal and Sentinel for a number of years. He was later employed by the Lexington Silk Mills.

On March 10, 1943, Staff Sergeant Lawrence enlisted in the Army Air Forces and trained at Miami Beach, Fla., Davidson College, and Denver, Colo. He went to the Pacific area as a gunner and was shot down by the Japanese on February 18, 1945.

SSgt Lawrence was brought to the Taipei City prison in Taiwan. While a POW in Taipei, a mock trial was held. SSgt Lawrence, along with 13 other American servicemen, were accused of being "war criminals" by the Japanese Army, sentenced to death, and executed. They were cremated and their ashes placed in a local Japanese Shinto temple. At the end of the war, the remains were turned over to the Allies for burial. SSgt Lawrence's ashes were interred at the Woodland Cemetery, Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, North Carolina, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com
Source of photo: www.powtaiwan.org