William Dean Hawkins
| William Deane Hawkins | |
|---|---|
 
|
|
| Born |
April 19, 1914 Fort Scott, Kansas |
| Died | November 21, 1943 (aged 29) KIA at Tarawa |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/ |
United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1942–1943 |
| Rank | First Lieutenant |
| Unit | 2nd Battalion 2nd Marines |
| Battles/wars |
Guadalcanal Battle of Tarawa |
| Awards |
Medal of Honor Purple Heart |
William Deane Hawkins (April 18, 1914 – November 21, 1943) was a United States Marine Corps officer who was posthumously awarded the United States' highest military honor – the Medal of Honor – for heroic actions and sacrifice of life during the World War II Battle of Tarawa.
Hawkins was born on April 18, 1914 in Fort Scott, Kansas. When he was a baby, he suffered an accident which scarred him for life. A neighbor accidentally spilled a can of scalding hot water over him and it was a year before his mother was able to cure the muscular damage by massage and he could walk again.
When he was five, the family moved to El Paso, Texas; when he was eight, his father died and his mother had to seek outside employment. She was employed as the secretary to a high school principal and, later, as a teacher in the El Paso Technical Institute.
An excellent student, he skipped fifth grade at LaMar and Alta Vista Schools and graduated from El Paso High School when he was 16. He won a scholarship to the Texas College of Mines, where he studied engineering. During summer vacations, he delivered magazines and sold newspapers, and worked as a bellhop, ranch hand, and railroad laborer.
When he was 21, he went to Tacoma, Washington, to work. At 23, he was an engineer for a Los Angeles title-insurance company.
After Pearl Harbor was attacked, he enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve on January 5, 1942, and was assigned to the 7th Recruit Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego. He had tried unsuccessfully to enter both the Army and the Navy Air Corps, but his scars prevented his being accepted. Now, as a Marine, he joined the 2nd Marines, 2nd Marine Division, completed Scout Snipers' School at Camp Elliott, San Diego, and on July 1, 1942 embarked on board the USS Crescent City for the Pacific area.
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