Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 25, 1990 TAG: 9004250198
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: KEVIN KITTREDGE SHENANDOAH BUREAU
DATELINE: LEXINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The former public relations official and one-time history instructor at Virginia Military Institute told a Lexington newspaper this month he had been knighted by Queen Elizabeth.
Burnette, who lives in Rockbridge County and teaches at Radford University, told the Lexington News-Gazette that on March 3, he was dubbed Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath for his service in the cause of peace. The queen also gave him a specially chosen sword, Burnette said, and told him, "May you carry it in honor and peace through a long life, Sir Lawrence."
"I feel like I've fallen down a rabbit hole into another world," the newspaper quoted Burnette as saying. "In moments of deeper reflection, I say, `Why me, oh Lord? What have I done?' "
This week, others have been asking Burnette the same question.
A competing newspaper, The Rockbridge Weekly, is running a front-page story questioning Burnette's account of his alleged knighthood.
Also, the British Embassy is saying - politely - that Burnette must be mistaken.
"We have no record of any such award," said Andrew Henderson, first secretary at the British Embassy in Washington. "I had not heard of Mr. Burnette. Had an award been in the cards, it would have come through this embassy to contact him."
And what of Queen Elizabeth, who allegedly bestowed knighthood on Burnette personally and gave him an antique sword "as a token of our high esteem and affection"?
"I have no reason to believe that that conversation took place," Henderson said.
Burnette, contacted Tuesday, said, "I'm aware that some controversy has arisen. My best interests lie in making no statement whatsoever."
He insisted that he was knighted, but declined to comment further.
When asked about the Burnette story, M.W. Paxton Jr., editor of the News-Gazette, said, "I'd rather not comment on that."
He declined to say if the newspaper is standing by its April 4 story, which began on the front page and included two pictures, one of Burnette holding his sword and the other of the medal of the Order of the Bath.
The medal in the photograph, taken by a News-Gazette staffer, looked identical to the medal given George C. Marshall in 1945 for his work as U.S. Army chief of staff in World War II. That medal is on display at the Marshall Museum on the VMI campus.
Burnette, a one-time history instructor at VMI, served as the school's public information officer for more than three years in the early 1980s, said Tom Joynes, who succeeded him.
by CNB