|
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Medical Detachment,
30th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Carano, Italy,
30 January 1944. Entered service at: Park Rapids, Minn. Birth: 13 January
1911, Becker, Minn. G.O. No.: 5, 15 January 1945. Citation: For gallantry
and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. On 30
January 1944, at 3 p.m., near Carano, Italy, Pfc. Hawks braved an enemy
counterattack in order to rescue 2 wounded men who, unable to move, were
Iying in an exposed position within 30 yards of the enemy. Two riflemen,
attempting the rescue, had been forced to return to their fighting holes
by extremely severe enemy machinegun fire, after crawling only 10 yards
toward the casualties. An aid man, whom the enemy could plainly identify
as such, had been critically wounded in a similar attempt. Pfc. Hawks,
nevertheless, crawled 50 yards through a veritable hail of machinegun bullets
and flying mortar fragments to a small ditch, administered first aid to
his fellow aid man who had sought cover therein, and continued toward the
2 wounded men 50 yards distant. An enemy machinegun bullet penetrated his
helmet, knocking it from his head, momentarily stunning him. Thirteen bullets
passed through his helmet as it lay on the ground within 6 inches of his
body. Pfc. Hawks, crawled to the casualties, administered first aid to
the more seriously wounded man and dragged him to a covered position 25
yards distant. Despite continuous automatic fire from positions only 30
yards away and shells which exploded within 25 yards, Pfc. Hawks returned
to the second man and administered first aid to him. As he raised himself
to obtain bandages from his medical kit his right hip was shattered by
a burst of machinegun fire and a second burst splintered his left forearm.
Displaying dogged determination and extreme self-control, Pfc. Hawks, despite
severe pain and his dangling left arm, completed the task of bandaging
the remaining casualty and with superhuman effort dragged him to the same
depression to which he had brought the first man. Finding insufficient
cover for 3 men at this point, Pfc. Hawks crawled 75 yards in an effort
to regain his company, reaching the ditch in which his fellow aid man was
lying.
This data was extracted from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate, Medal of Honor Recipients: 1863-1973 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973)
| | |