Remembering CT2 Lawrence Hayden, KIA USS Liberty

Lawrence Hayden, as remembered by his sister, Kathryn:

We called him Larry. My brother was adopted at birth by my parents while they were living in Houston, Texas. June 16, 1947 was an odd day for my parents. My mother was a patient in the hospital where a baby was born and thirty minutes after delivery, Mom was holding the baby in her arms. The baby was named Larry, and that’s how it all started.

He was special from the day Mom and Dad first saw him. They had tried to have children of their own for many years and finally applied for adoption. It took quite a long time and lots of frustration on their part to qualify because they were so young. My Mom and Dad are two of the most determined people I know, so it was inevitable that the adoption go through for them.