I spend a lot of time at the post office. My online business generates a fair amount of international
shipping and those packages go to the counter rather than the loading dock.
Underneath the glass on the post office railing is a special cancellation
commemorating 1st Lt. William Deane “Hawk” Hawkins. As an officer in
the Marine Corps Reserve, he won America’s highest military award, the Congress
Medal of Honor.
April 19, 2012, would have been Hawkins’ 98th birthday.
Born in Fort Scott, Kansas in 1914, circumstances made Hawkins an unlikely hero. A severe
burn accident as a baby left him badly scarred and disqualified him from serving
in the Army and the Navy Air Corps. He persevered and was accepted into the
Marine Corps Reserve after Pearl Harbor and deployed to the Pacific on July 1, 1942.
Evidently, the Marines didn’t see his scars as an
impediment. A PFC when he left the states, he quickly rose through the ranks. On June 1, 1943, he was promoted to first
lieutenant.
His ultimate sacrifice came less than six months later on
Betio Island during the Tarawa campaign. The Saturday Evening Post wrote of
Hawkins, “He was slightly wounded by shrapnel as he came ashore in the first
wave, but the furthest thing from him mind was to be evacuated. . . During a
day and a half he personally cleaned out six Jap machine gun nests, sometimes
standing on top of a track and firing point blank at four or five men who fired
back at him from behind blockhouses. Lt. Hawkins was wounded a second time, but
he still refused to retire. To say that his conduct was worthy of the highest
traditions of the Marine Corps is like saying the Empire State Building is
moderately high.”
Hawkins’ Medal of Honor was posthumously awarded for heroism
and sacrifice above and beyond the call of duty. The citation reads, “His
relentless fighting spirit in the face of formidable opposition and his
exceptionally daring tactics were an inspiration to his comrades during the
most crucial phase of the battle and reflect the highest credit upon the United
States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.” William
Deane Hawkins rests in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in
Honolulu. Hawkins represents
the best of “The Greatest Generation” that are leaving us too quickly. His
refusal to let his childhood scars limit him, his determination to protect his
country from its gravest threat, and his selfless gallantry are worth
remembering and honoring. Happy Birthday Lieutenant Hawkins.
