b. 13/01/1911 Becker, Minnesota. d. 26/10/1953 Park Rapids, Minnesota.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 30/01/1944 near Carano, Italy.
Lloyd C Hawks MOH
Lloyd was born January 30, 1911 to Leroy and Rachael (Hickman) Hawks while they were temporarily living in Green Valley Township, Becker, Minnesota. He was the youngest of seven children. At age 8 the family moved back to Watervliet, Berrien County, Michigan where Lloyd’s childhood and formative years were spent on the family farm. In 1930, Lloyd, with the nickname “Goldie,” graduated from Watervliet High School. Although, the family’s homestead, history, and traditions, were based in Southwestern Michigan, Lloyd moved back to Minnesota as an adult.18 He was residing in Carlisle Township, Otter Tail County, Minnesota in the 1940 census.
He went into service at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, and was assigned to the 98th Field Artillery at Fort Lewis, Washington. His initial training was as a mule driver. After six weeks with the mules, Hawks was transferred to the 30th Medical Detachment at Fort Lewis. In October 1941, he was transferred to the enlisted Reserve Corps. He spent five and a half months as a civilian working as a patrolman guarding Army warehouses at Fort Mason, San Francisco before being recalled to active duty.
Lloyd was finally able to enter into service in May 1942. Lloyd returned to the Army’s Third Division, Thirtieth Infantry Medical Detachment. On October 23, 1942 he left on the U.S.S. Joseph T. Dickman from Hampton Road, Newport News, Virginia. He landed with his division in North Africa on November 8, 1942. Hawks made his second amphibious landing on Sicily’s D Day, July 10, 1943. In December 1943 his unit saw fierce combat. Hawks proved himself a brave and capable medic, winning the Silver Star for heroic actions.
On January 30, 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 lying in an exposed position within 30 yards of the
enemy. After crawling only 10 yards toward the casualties, two riflemen attempting the rescue, had been
forced to return to their fighting holes by extremely severe enemy machinegun fire. 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. Six hours after being wounded Hawks was evacuated.
“For gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life, and above and beyond the call of duty,” Lloyd Cortez Hawks was awarded the Medal of Honor by Franklin Roosevelt on January 10, 1945. The medal was placed around his neck by his niece Phyllis Hawks, a Navy Wave. Hawks is quoted as saying, “ Sure, I gave aid to a good many wounded men under fire, but there’s nothing remarkable about that. After all that’s what a medical soldier is supposed to do, isn’t it?”
While he lay in an Army Hospital recovering from his wounds, he received a letter of encouragement and support from one Cora Marian Torkelson. Back in the states, an acquaintance led to romance and they were married on January 13, 1946. The couple had three children Leroy George (1947-2001), David Langdon (1949-1970), and Charlotte Ann, who was born in 1952 while the family was stationed in Japan.
Hawks chose to remain in the Army after World War II. He also served in the Korean War, working his way up to the rank of Sergeant First Class. Hawks, despite an initial Army assessment that he was not fit enough or too old to serve in combat, showed an almost superhuman physical effort and courage in saving the lives of his three comrades.
During his military career, Hawks also received the Italian Military Medal of Valor Cross (comparable to the Medal of Honor), the Silver Star with two oak leaf clusters, the Bronze Star with one oak leaf cluster, the Purple Heart with two oak leaf clusters, the Meritorious Service Award Insignia, the World War II Victory Medal, the American Theater Ribbon, the American Defense Medal, the European African Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon, the Distinguished Unit Medal, the Japanese Occupation Medal and the Combat Medical Badge. He died of a heart attack at the age of 42 years in 1953, and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Park Rapids, Hubbard County, Minnesota.
On January 18, 2007 Fort Stewart, Georgia, dedicated the Hawks Troop Medical Clinic honoring the Army’s most-decorated combat medic, Lloyd Cortez Hawks.
MOH CITATION:
For conspicuous 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 two wounded men who, unable to move, were lying 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 machine-gun fire, after crawling only 10 yards toward the casualties. An aidman, 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 machine-gun bullets and flying mortar fragments to a small ditch, administered first aid to his fellow aidman who had sought cover therein, and continued toward the two wounded men 50 yards distant. An enemy machine-gun 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 six 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 machine-gun 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 three men at this point, Pfc. Hawks crawled 75 yards in an effort to regain his company, reaching the ditch in which his fellow aidman was lying.
BURIAL LOCATION: GREENWOOD CEMETERY, PARK RAPIDS, MINNESOTA.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: FAMILY.
