Reds Hall of Famer Brooks Lawrence was awarded a Bronze Star for his heroics

As our country celebrates another Veterans Day, the Cincinnati Reds are grateful for and proud of all who have served our country as a member of the United States Armed Forces.

While the Reds are certainly known for their rich baseball tradition, there are also strong military ties with many of their players and coaches over the course of the organization’s history.

Hank Gowdy was the first active Major Leaguer to enlist for service in World War I. The Columbus native never played for the Reds but joined the coaching staff in the late 1930s and was part of the 1940 world championship team. He even stepped in as manager for a handful of games in 1946.

Eddie Grant, known for his exceptional glovework in the infield, played for the Reds from 1911-1913. While on active duty in the Forest of Argonne in France during World War I, Grant’s life was cut short. He was the first Major Leaguer killed in action during that war.

Christy Mathewson was the Reds manager from 1916-1918. A captain in the U.S. Army’s Chemical Warfare Division, Mathewson was exposed to mustard gas during a training session and hospitalized. With the Reds unable to contact him and determine the extent of his condition as the 1919 season approached, they hired Pat Moran as skipper for what was ultimately their first World Series championship season.

There are 97 inductees in the Reds Hall fame -- 23 of them served in the Armed Forces. One of those 23 is Brooks Lawrence, the only member of the Reds Hall of Fame to see combat during his military service.

The pitcher played for Cincinnati from 1956-1960, including his All-Star season in 1956 when he played alongside a long list of Reds Hall of Famers: Ted Kluszewski, Frank Robinson, Wally Post, Gus Bell, Roy McMillan, Smoky Burgess and Johnny Temple. Even with all those bats in a lineup that blasted a record-setting 221 home runs, Lawrence shined on his own merit. The right-hander won 19 games that season, including his first 13 decisions. The Springfield, Ohio, native followed that up with a 16-win campaign in ’57.

While he carved out a very successful playing career, what he did for his country trumps anything he or anyone else can do on a baseball field. In 1945, he earned a Bronze Star Medal for his heroic acts while on duty.

Cheryl Lyons, Lawrence’s niece, wrote a book called “Pitching the Dream” about her uncle’s life.

“I was very fortunate because I had my little tape recorder, so I was taping everything he was saying,” she said. “He loved the Reds. He talked about the Reds a lot. He gave me a lot of newspaper articles and pictures. And he talked about his friendship with Jackie Robinson, how to throw all the different pitches, he talked about his first game. He talked about everything.”

While it was not something he liked to openly talk about, he also shared with her a little bit about his time with the military. Lyons was able to get other details from his brother, including much of the information about the story that earned Lawrence his Bronze Star.

Lyons was kind enough to share some of these stories over the phone, including insights from that memorable day in Guam.

After graduating high school, Lawrence’s military journey began at Indiana’s Fort Benjamin Harrison for bootcamp in 1943. This was followed by a stint in Seattle. From there, he went to Pearl Harbor in June 1944 before heading to Guam later that month where he also played baseball while fulfilling his service duties.

While in Guam, he and others from his platoon of Army Engineers Aviation Battalion were assigned to work on the airfields. One morning, while Lawrence and his friend were chatting while taking a break from their work, his friend suddenly got quiet and his eyes grew wide as he stared off into the sky. Lawrence was wondering what was wrong, but his friend couldn’t get it out. That’s when Lawrence heard what sounded like an airplane and his friend yelled “Bandits!” So Brooks yelled, “Attack! Attack!” which prompted all the other men to run and take cover.

A Japanese fighter plane was raining down bullets. As Lawrence was running, there just so happened to be a jeep not far from him. So he leaped onto the jeep and started firing off shots from the mounted machine gun just as the Japanese plane had circled back around for a second sweep. Bullets continued hitting close to the jeep as Lawrence fired. The plane then veered off, sputtered and crashed down into the ocean. Lawrence then jumped out to check on his friend and the others who had taken cover. There were some injuries, but no fatalities.

“The guys were thanking him, and he just kept saying he didn't do anything,” Lyons said. “When he was forced to go to the doctor to be sure he was OK, the doctor told him how courageous he was and he just replied, ‘I didn’t do anything that no other person wouldn’t have done.’”

When it was time for them to get ready to go home for their departure, they had their ceremony so that they could officially be dismissed. When that happened, they called him up to get the Bronze Star.

“He told the major, bless his heart, ‘Did you guys make a mistake? Are you sure?’” Lyons said. “They gave it to him, and he went and sat back down. And after the ceremony was over, he went back up to the major and said, ‘I just don't think I earned this medal.’ Brooks even went back to look at the paper to make sure his name was on there. That’s how humble he was. He didn’t think he earned it.”

The phrase “great player, better person” tends to be overused. But in Brooks Lawrence’s case, it couldn’t be more accurate.

“He was always trying to help people. He always wanted people to do better. Yeah, he was stand-up all the way around,” Lyons said.

On Veterans Day, Lawrence and his fellow 22 Reds Hall of Famers who served will have their Hall of Fame plaques marked with an American flag for visitors’ reference.

The Cincinnati Reds thank and salute all our veterans for their service to our country and are proud to show their appreciation year-round.

Veterans receive free admission to the Reds Hall of Fame & Museum presented by Dinsmore, thanks to the Sargent Family Foundation. At every home game, the Reds recognize a Hometown Hero -- a past or present member of the Armed Forces -- for his or her service to our country. The honoree is gifted an official Hometown Hero hat, a Reds Hometown Hero challenge coin and saluted at the end of the second inning on top of the Reds dugout. The Reds also host Military Appreciation days throughout each season which feature special pricing for all military and pregame ceremonies honoring various branches of the Armed Forces.