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.
From the time Larry was about seven or eight years old, he showed a great deal of interest in entertaining. He loved magic and was performing fairly sophisticated tricks for birthday parties and, of course, for anyone else in the neighborhood who would sit still for the show. As time went on, he really excelled in his love of magic.
In high school, he developed certain skills. He became an incredible public speaker, a master of debate, a thespian and a for profit performer in and around the Houston area. He was very active in our church and served as president of the youth group. Through his connections there, he met other fledgling actors. At this point, Larry had already acted in several plays at different theaters in Houston as well as in school plays. He performed in Life With Father, Richard III, Snow White, Bye Bye Birdie and The Boyfriend. And he performed magic at such clubs as The Top Of The Mark. Larry did many benefits, too, for orphanages and for the underprivileged. By the time he graduated high school, he had a job as a radio announcer on a major FM Station in Houston, KQED.
Larry was certainly a special person. He came to us one day and nineteen years later, he left, and never came home. He left behind his parents, two sisters and a brother, and many aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. Plus, he left behind, his girlfriend, Patty Ball. Larry was actually proud of the fact that he was adopted and had known of this most of his life. He never seemed interested in locating his birth parents. He said that we were his family and that was more than enough for him.
By the time he had gone into the navy, he had established friendships with the likes of Walter Cronkite and others who recognized his many talents. Larry's life was a life of such promise. He lived everyday to its fullest and had dreams like most nineteen year olds have. His accomplishments were many, but his main one was managing to grow up with his siblings. We always invaded his privacy, stealing rare coins from his collection to buy hamburgers and milk shakes, trying to get into his magic tricks to see how they were done, playing his records and leaving a few unwanted scratches and just aggravating him in general ways. Somehow, he did it all with a great deal of grace.
Larry was truly the light in my parents eyes but that light burned out for many years after his death. We still remember him everyday in some way and there are times we feel his presence even now.
It's very hard to talk about Larry without some emotion. Pure data would not have done him justice and from the text of this letter, you might well imagine that he would not have liked the fact that you had no information about him. He was definitely fond of stage lights. Good luck to you and love to all of the crew and to all of the families like ours, who have suffered such needless losses.
Sincerely yours,
Kathryn E. Hayden
Summary
CTSN Lawrence Paul Hayden, USN, B70 53 70
Born 16 June 1947, Houston, Texas
Active duty since 2 May 1966
Parents: Mr. & Mrs. James H. Hayden, Houston, Texas
Died in Naval Security Group (intelligence) Department spaces
Buried: Arlington National Cemetery, Mass Grave #1817, Section 34
He Died For His Country
by Katie Hayden, November 11th, 1967
He lived a full life,
In his nineteen years,
Then came his death,
And brought many tears.
It was nineteen hundred and sixty seven,
When He said it was time,
And took him to heaven,
We didn't even get his body back.
Instead, in memory, two flags and a plaque,
It happened while in the navy at sea,
When he was killed,
So unnecessarily.
The Israelis bombed,
The ship he was on,
They said they were sorry,
But now, he is gone.
How much do you think,
A life is worth,
An angel to us,
Adopted at birth.
He meant so much,
To Mama and Daddy,
As he did to everyone,
And, to his girlfriend, Patty.
There were five others lost,
The same as he,
That tragic day,
On the Liberty.
No one knew,
Of where they could be
Some say they washed,
Into the surrounding sea.
A spoken of dream,
He always had,
But now it has vanished,
All true, and so sad.
He dreamed of some day,
Larry Hayden, his name,
Would be well known,
With glory and fame.
We hadn't seen him,
For four long months,
When the sorrowful news,
Was sent to us.
The Israeli's generously,
Offered to pay,
For the life they had taken,
But, what did we say?
How much do you think,
His life was worth,
An angel to us,
Adopted at birth.
Mama still cries,
And says, he'll be back,
But, we all know,
We have to face the fact.
He died for his country,
So brave and so bold,
Though, Larry's now gone,
Sweet memories will hold.