In all professions, there are those who become legends.  Major General Lawrence H. Williams, Big Daddy, was a legend in the JAG Corps and the Pentagon.  Even as a Lieutenant Colonel, many things in the Pentagon only happened after Big Daddy’s approval.  His temper was also well known.  There were times when his temper got the best of him.  Many times it was justified, once in a while, it was not.

I wrote this poem for his seventy-fifth birthday.  There was a luncheon given by many of the officers who served under him.  General Williams died a year later and his wife, Margaret, asked me to read the poem at the funeral reception.

This is one of my favorite poems in that I felt I captured a lot about this unique man in just a few lines.  He had little sayings (always with a purpose), like, “if you saw the wood in front of you, it will warm you twice.  First, when you cut it, and then, when you burn it.  He also said, “Never wrestle with a pig because you will get dirty and the pig will enjoy it.”

When I was in the Pentagon working in the Administrative Law Division, all of the Army regulations were kept in three-ring binders (now everything is on line).  Rather than take the whole binder, officers would just pull out the regulation they needed.  Sometimes they got lost.  One day, General Williams was looking for a regulation and it was missing.  He let it be known that anyone removing a regulation from the binder would be fired.  That got our attention.

He was a combat aviator during World War II flying missions in North Africa, Italy and France.  On D-Day, he flew a glider loaded with troops inland from Normandy.

After his retirement, when someone would ask how he was doing, he would say, “quite well, thank you.”  Then, after a pause, he would smile and say, “all things considered.”


                                 Big Daddy’s Seventy-Fifth

Three quarters of a century, seventy-five years,
We’re gathered together to shout out our cheers.
He’s climbed to the top and the journey is done,
He’s enjoying the view in the warmth of the sun.

A man of all seasons, an adviser, a leader,
When placed under pressure, he never would teeter.
His accomplishments many, and quotes with a zig,
Like “sawing the wood” and “never wrestling with a pig.”

He could roar like a lion, and get wound up tightly,
He was mission oriented, and didn’t suffer fools lightly.
But, he admired the young JAG, the day-to-day grinder,
But whoa be the one who lifts the Reg from the binder.

Who flew a glider a half century ago?
Who excels at table tennis, I’ll bet you don’t know.
Who spent years in the Pentagon, most people would go batty,
You’re right, you guessed it, it’s our own Big Daddy.

So it’s Happy Birthday on the seventy-fifth year,
With Margaret at your side, she’s such a dear.
You’ve had a great life, a life not frittered,
And you’re doing quite well, thank you, all things considered.