Arlington Chief Backs Envoy’s Disputed Burial Many Ex-Diplomats Who Lacked Military Service Buried There

The late ambassador M. Larry Lawrence, whose claim that he served in the Merchant Marine during World War II is being questioned, probably would have qualified for burial at Arlington National Cemetery even without a record of military service, the cemetery’s superintendent said.

Last week, House Republican investigators said a search of military records had turned up no sign that Lawrence, a major Democratic donor, served aboard a ship sunk by a German torpedo in March 1945. President Clinton, calling the matter “serious,” instructed the State Department to investigate.

The GOP inquiry into Lawrence’s record grew out of allegations that Clinton had rewarded Democratic donors with burial plots at Arlington.

Lawrence died in 1996 at his official residence in Bern, Switzerland. A friend of Clinton’s and longtime Democratic Party contributor, he was nominated as ambassador to Switzerland in 1993.

He was among 69 individuals over the last five years who received special permission to be buried at the cemetery. The Lawrence case and related issues have renewed concerns over who qualifies for burial at Arlington. Projections show the cemetery will run out of space by 2020.

Metzler, who makes the initial recommendation on whether burial requests meet the standards set out in Arlington’s regulations, said Lawrence’s status as an envoy provided sufficient basis for a waiver.

He noted that John A. Scali, who served in the Nixon White House and as ambassador to the United Nations, was buried in Arlington even though he did not serve in the military. Scali, who died in 1995, was a former ABC News correspondent who played a secret, go-between role in the Cuban missile crisis.