Lieutenant General Lawson W. Magruder III was born in Bryan, Texas, on 5 November 1947, the son of a career Army officer. He was commissioned in the Infantry in 1969 as a Distinguished Military Graduate of the University of Texas in Austin.

Early in his career, the general served as a rifle platoon leader in the 82nd Airborne Division, and the 23rd Infantry Division, Vietnam; airborne company commander in the 82nd Airborne Division; ranger company commander in the 2nd Ranger Battalion; battalion operations officer in the 9th Infantry Division; infantry assignment officer, U.S. Total Army Personnel Command; Commander of the 5th Battalion, 327th Infantry, 172d Light Infantry Brigade in Alaska; Chief of Tactics and Deputy Director of the Combined Arms and Tactics Department, U.S. Army Infantry School; Commander of the 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Light), Hawaii; and Executive Assistant to the Deputy Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Command.

As a general officer, he served as Deputy Director for Strategic Policy and Plans, USPACOM; Assistant Division Commander (Operations), 10th Mountain Division (Light), with duty in Somalia as the Commander of Combined Task Force Kismayo; Commander, Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk; Commander, U.S. Army South and Joint Task Force-Panama; Commander,10th Mountain Division (Light) and Fort Drum; and Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, U.S. Army Forces Command. In August 1999, he became the Deputy Commanding General and Chief of Staff of U.S. Army Forces Command, Fort McPherson, Georgia. He retired from active duty after 32 years service on 1 September 2001.

His military education includes the Infantry Officer Basic Course, Infantry Advanced Course, the United States Army Command and General Staff College, and the Army War College. He holds a Master's Degree in Personnel Management from Central Michigan University.

His awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal (1 OLC), Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (3 OLC), Bronze Star Medal (1 OLC), Meritorious Service Medal (3 OLC), Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal (1 OLC), the Combat Infantryman Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Ranger Tab, Air Assault Badge, and the Canadian and Colombian Parachutist Badges. He has also received the highest peacetime awards from the governments of El Salvador, Colombia, Venezuela, Belize and Argentina.

LTG Magruder has been married to Gloria Ann Magruder since 26 July 1969 and they have three children, Shannon, Loren and Matthew.