720th
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This page last updated 18 February 2012

LTC Philip Cook Lawton

Commanding Officer of the 720th Military Police Battalion
1945 ~ 1946
1983 - click on to enlarge

     In 1945 LTC (Retired) Philip C. Lawton received command of the Battalion from MAJ Jackson and passed command of the Battalion to LTC Emery D, Middleton in Tokyo, Japan, sometime in 1946.

     Philip Cook Lawton was born 22 December 1897 in Springfield, MA and enlisted in the Army on 22 October 1928. He retired on 31 December 1951 and lived in Tokyo and Okinawa, Japan several years before moving to Hawaii.

   He passed from our ranks 23 May 1986 in Honolulu, HI, and is buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

   Obtaining the exact dates of command for several Battalion Commanders from this era have been unsuccessful. This was a time of high-tempo operations in occupied Japan, resulting in much movement, and Battalion historical record keeping simply lost its precision.
Date unknown - click on to enlarge
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