Veteran, 100, guided by faith through WWII, peacetime

Lawrence McCauley has so many stories to share that it’s difficult to know where to start.

Some of his most profound life experiences have been brought to light the past few years by various media outlets, in particular his decorated military service during World War II and his connection in Columbus with some of the city’s iconic figures.

McCauley found himself in the spotlight again recently when he was honored during the Ohio State-Notre Dame football game in Ohio Stadium on Sept. 3, one day before his 100th birthday.

But one aspect of the Lancaster native’s story that hasn’t received much attention is his devotion to his Catholic faith and how that has served as his guiding light for as long as he can remember.

As the country pays tribute on Friday, Nov. 11 to those who have served in the U.S. military during the observance of Veterans Day, McCauley will be one of the millions of men and women recognized for having faithfully given of themselves to preserve peace in the world and the freedoms that Americans enjoy today.

Of the 7 million Americans who served in World War II, only 167,000 remain alive in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. McCauley counts his blessings to be among them; many of his buddies in the service and from back home in Lancaster never returned from the battlefields of Europe and in the Pacific. 

One moment in time that encapsulated his 100 years on earth came in August. McCauley, wearing a World War II jacket, attended a Mass in Lancaster when Bishop Earl Fernandes announced that McCauley’s boyhood church, St. Mary, had been designated a minor basilica. 

Most likely in 1922, his mother, Stella, would have been sitting in the same pew or somewhere close by when she was pregnant with Lawrence.

During an interview last month on a beautiful fall afternoon at his son Tom’s home near Alum Creek Reservoir, McCauley sat on the bumper of a vehicle in the driveway and recalled the faith of his father while recounting his own remarkable journey.

Certain memories from growing up in Lancaster come to mind after all these years. One that stands out is his father, John, closing his hardware store early every other Saturday and walking to the church to go to confession. He also remembers his dad going on weekend spiritual retreats, and that left a lasting impact on McCauley, the fifth of seven children. 

At the height of the Great Depression, which came in 1929, and his father faced the threat of having to close the hardware store, McCauley said some faithful local farmers came to the rescue to keep the business going. 

At the church and school, the priests and sisters provided a solid foundation of faith. Twice a week, McCauley said, the schoolchildren attended Mass. He not only was an altar boy but also was tasked with manually ringing the church bells.

As he grew older, he remembers being asked to drive Msgr. David Quailey, the parish pastor from 1923 to 1948, and the priest sitting in the back seat of the car with a spittoon tied around his neck.

“He was a peach,” McCauley said.

Because times were tough then, many of the young boys of that generation also worked at jobs in addition to attending school. McCauley was employed in the print shop of the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, which was dirty and demanding work, and he also made deliveries to nearby towns. 

McCauley graduated from St. Mary in the Class of 1941. A few months later, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He tried to enlist in the Marines but was passed over because he wore glasses. A few months later, like many young men of that generation, he was drafted into the Army.

As a member of the 65th Armored Field Artillery Battalion in the Third Army, McCauley learned to drive trucks, halftracks and landing craft while training in England.

On June 6, 1944, McCauley was riding in one of those landing craft when the door swung open at Normandy’s Omaha Beach during the D-Day invasion. He and his cohorts were immediately greeted with bullets flying everywhere. A buddy next to him was struck in the head, but there was no saving him. McCauley and the other soldiers had to quickly press forward.

After he and his compatriots fought their way from the beach up the bluffs while crawling on their stomachs, McCauley said it was an incredible relief to reach the top.

From there, as the U.S. forces moved across Europe against the German army, he fought in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest later that year and the Battle of the Bulge. It was a blessing when a Catholic chaplain could celebrate Mass on the hood of a Jeep and hear confessions. 

In November 1944, McCauley penned a letter to his family that read in part:

“On Christmas Day, if I am fortunate to attend Mass, I shall remember you all by offering my Mass for your intentions. Maybe we all will be together again real soon and the world as peaceful and quiet as the stable in Bethlehem.”

As the Allied Forces approached victory in Europe, McCauley was involved in stopping a train filled with Jewish women and children headed to an extermination camp. The U.S. troops sent them toward the American lines to safety.

On April 11, 1945, McCauley’s unit was among the first to reach the Buchenwald concentration camp, where the troops freed 21,000 prisoners and spared them from the crematory ovens that he said were still warm and emitted an inescapable odor.

A few years ago, McCauley met two survivors of the Holocaust at a 75th D-Day anniversary commemoration at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. One of the survivors had been on a train liberated by American soldiers, and the other was rescued from Buchenwald.

For his service in World War II, McCauley received four campaign ribbons, four Bronze Stars and four Silver Stars. In January 2020, he was awarded the French Legion of Honour, the country’s highest honor to a foreigner. 

After the war, McCauley returned home to Lancaster. When he walked through the door at his parents’ home on Mulberry Street, his father called out, “Is that you, son?” and gave him a bear hug – an answer to prayer for a safe return.

McCauley used the GI Bill to attend Ohio University in Athens, where he met wife Mary Ann. He graduated in 1949 and moved to Columbus.

McCauley and his wife eventually settled in Upper Arlington, where they raised their eight children, who all graduated from Columbus Bishop Watterson High School.

He took a job out of college that turned into a career at Ohio National Bank (now PNC Bank). 

That’s where a now well-documented meeting took place in 1955 with John H. McConnell, who came to McCauley at the bank asking for a $650 loan to start a business. McConnell, a fellow World War II veteran, used his car as collateral. McCauley gave him the loan, McConnell started Worthington Industries and the two “Macs” became lifelong friends.

In McConnell’s later years, “Dad would go over and visit with him and say prayers with him,” Tom said.

“As a matter of fact, Dad was the last person to make a visit to Mr. McConnell before he died.”

Three years ago, during an NHL playoff game in Nationwide Arena, the Columbus Blue Jackets paid tribute to McCauley as part of its pregame veterans’ honoree ceremony. Because of McConnell’s success with Worthington Industries, he led a group of investors that brought the professional hockey franchise to Columbus in the late 1990s.

At the first-period intermission of that game, McConnell’s son, John P., visited McCauley at his seat after a tribute was played on the video boards, gave him a hug and said, “I didn’t know you were still alive. My dad just thought you were the best.”

McCauley used his personal and professional skills in a variety of ways.

He spent many fall Saturday afternoons in the 1950s handling finances from the concessions at Ohio Stadium during football games until his wife said he needed to spend more time at home helping with the growing family.

The McCauleys lived only a few blocks from legendary Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes and his wife, Anne. Another prominent family in Upper Arlington was the Nicklauses.

McCauley said his most memorable encounter with Hayes came outside an ice cream shop when he asked Woody to shake hands with one of his sons, whose hand was sticky with the ice cream. Hayes walked away wiping his hand on his pant leg.

Charlie Nicklaus, the father of golf great Jack Nicklaus, owned pharmacies in the area.

And then there was McCauley’s encounter with another famous Columbus businessman. One day, a gentleman approached him about a business loan. McCauley rejected Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas because he lacked the necessary collateral and told him to find some friends with money who could help.

Years later, Thomas joked that McCauley had been the only banker who rejected his loan request.

McCauley also used his business skills to benefit the Church. He raised funds for the construction of Columbus St. Agatha Church and for the diocese’s St. Therese’s Retreat Center. He was an active participant in the Columbus Catholic Laymen’s Retreat League.

Son Tom said his father played a role in starting the athletic association at Bishop Watterson.

After retiring from banking, McCauley didn’t retire from work. He made deliveries for a business owned by one of his sons and escaped injury during a serious accident on state Route 315 when he was in his late 70s.

Tom said his father’s first question after the accident wasn’t whether he was OK physically but whether he could secure another vehicle to make his delivery.

His son mentioned another of his dad’s escapes from injury that happened in his early 90s. The incident occurred while McCauley was riding a bike to attend daily Mass, which he did faithfully, and crashed in a road construction zone, landing on his head.

In the emergency room, the young doctor marveled that McCauley’s only injury was a contusion on his head after such a nasty fall.

The doctor asked several times whether McCauley was wearing a helmet. He refused to answer. When the doctor continued to press, McCauley finally responded, “I wore a helmet for 3 ½ years in World War II, and I’m sure as heck not going to wear one now.”     

McCauley lived on his own for 14 years after his wife died until 2017, when he moved in with Tom and his family.

McCauley still attends Mass whenever possible and prays the rosary daily. And he continues to serve.   

In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and Tom learned about a British World War II veteran who walked laps around his retirement home to raise money for charity, he hatched a similar plan to have his dad walk laps around the cul-de-sac in their neighborhood. McCauley’s efforts attracted media attention and brought in thousands of dollars for charity.  

More recently, McCauley enjoyed quite the evening on the eve of his 100th birthday.

Back in 2014 when the 2022 Ohio State-Notre Dame game was announced, McCauley, who had taken the train to South Bend, Indiana, from Lancaster as a boy (his heroes were legendary coach Knute Rockne and player George “Gipper” Gipp) to watch the Irish play, made it a goal to live long enough to attend the recent matchup.

The nationally televised night game turned out to be quite an experience. In addition to receiving the military recognition and an ovation from the crowd, McCauley spent 10 minutes after halftime talking with former Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel and wife Ellen, who were there to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Ohio State’s 2002 national championship. And Tom met Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow on the sideline. (“He’s a great guy,” Tom said.)

By the time the family returned home after the game, the clock had struck midnight, McCauley had officially turned 100 and the family sang Happy Birthday to him before turning in.

Two months have passed since then, and McCauley continues to move forward in good health. The family is making plans in 2023 to return to a spot in Quebec that they visited almost every summer until about five years ago.

As a recent visit wound down at the McCauley house, Tom led an Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be in thanksgiving. Lawrence McCauley recited the prayers like someone who had repeated them thousands and thousands of times in a long and blessed life on earth.