Honoring Our Veterans

Larry Lawson: Precision, Service, and a Life Shaped by Technology Larry Lawson, U.S. Army veteran and former E-5 with the Army Security Agency, built a career defined by technical expertise, discipline, and a commitment to keeping vital systems running under demanding conditions. Enlisting in the Army from 1962 to 1965, Larry began his service with basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. His aptitude for electronics quickly became clear, and after basic training he was assigned to Fort Devens, Massachusetts, to train as a radio repair technician. During this training, Larry was selected for an advanced civilian course at IBM—an uncommon opportunity offered only to top performers. When he completed his schooling, the Army sent him to northern Japan, roughly 13 miles off the coast of Russia. There, he became the sole repair specialist for the installation’s data-processing equipment. These machines were essential for analyzing intelligence gathered by the Army Security Agency, making Larry’s role so critical that military police were required to know his exact location at all times in case a machine failed. He recalls two memorable challenges from that assignment. The first involved punch-card data shipments arriving by ship badly swollen from moisture, requiring him to recalibrate the card-processing equipment so the cards would feed properly. The second occurred during a mandated conversion of all equipment from 50-cycle to 60-cycle power. A young soldier was sent to help, but after completing his first machine, he failed to test it. When Larry powered it up, every motor ran backward, driving cards the wrong direction and bending hundreds of pins—creating more work instead of less. Larry’s mastery of IBM equipment led seamlessly into a civilian career with IBM after his discharge. Working in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, he once received a 2 a.m. call to drive 70 miles in freezing rain to repair a bank machine that would not start after an upgrade. With the bank locked and no cell phones available, he located a pay phone, gained access, and diagnosed the issue alone. The problem turned out to be a single bent connector pin on a memory card—an easy fix for a trained eye. Later, Larry was transferred and promoted to IBM’s new facility in Tucson, Arizona. Looking back, he speaks highly of his Army experience and the career it launched. He encourages young people to consider military service, noting the opportunities, training, and lifelong benefits it provided him.