Early life, through World War I
Hawes was born in Thomson, Georgia, on February 12, 1894. He attended the University of Georgia on a baseball scholarship before transferring to Mercer University. There he won recognition in both baseball and American football. He earned a law degree along the way, but passed up the bar exam to coach and play professional baseball. When America entered World War I in 1917, Hawes enlisted in the navy as a fireman second class. Fifteen months later he accepted a temporary appointment as an ensign, but reverted to Boatswain ( Warrant Officer) in 1920.Interwar service
In March 1926 Hawes joined as Executive Officer. While aboard ''Falcon'' he played a key role in the salvage of offWorld War II
Japanese attack on Cavite Navy Yard, the Philippines, December 10, 1941
On December 10, 1941 the ''Pigeon'' was docked at the Cavite Navy Yard on Manila Bay for repairs to her steering gear when Japanese warplanes attacked. Since Pearl Harbor three days before, Hawes had main steam pressure up and the full crew aboard, ready to get underway at an instant. Lashed to the minesweeper , which provided steering for both, ''Pigeon'' cleared the docks and headed for the relative safety of the bay to dodge the enemy bombs. By this time Cavite had become a hellish inferno. After separating from ''Quail'' Hawes could see that the submarine was about to be engulfed by bombs and fire in her berth. Through heavy bombing and strafing, Lieutenant Hawes maneuvered the 187-foot ''Pigeon'' back to the flaming dock to haul the helpless submarine stern first from her berth. Another submarine and a minesweeper had just been sunk there by direct hits. The heat and flames were so intense that they blistered the ship's paint, singed off body hair, and melted the brim of Hawes' cap. But ''Pigeons crew managed to rig a line on the ''Seadragon'' and tow her to safety. For this heroic action, Hawes received his second Navy Cross and ''Pigeon'' was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, the first warship to receive the award in World War II. ''Seadragon'' went on to distinguished service, earning eleven battle stars before the war ended. Immediately after the attack Hawes found and mounted on his ship two 3-inch guns and twelve .50 caliber machine guns from the wrecked Navy Yard. By the end of December the new "gunboat" had received her second Presidential Unit Citation for shooting down several enemy planes and bombarding enemy troops. She was the only surface warship to win two Presidential Unit Citations in World War II.Later service
Hawes was reassigned to command the submarine tender USS ''Holland'' (AS-3) in 3 February 1942. Later in the war he would command the submarine rescue ship from 20 November 1942 and the submarine tender from 15 September 1944 until January 1945. Except for the brief periods when he was in transit or putting the submarine rescue ship and the submarine tender into commission, Hawes spent virtually all of World War II at sea in the Pacific in command of his three ships. Like Hawes himself, his ships always had a reputation for efficiency and readiness. When he put ''Chanticleer'' into commission, he had depth-charge racks installed so he could prosecute Japanese submarines. When he put ''Anthedon'' into commission, 92% of his crew were inductees and had never been to sea, but he sailed directly from commissioning to the Pacific war and within two hours of his arrival was servicing submarines. He received theRetirement and later years
On December 1, 1952 he was transferred to the retired list and promoted toAwards
* Navy Cross with gold star *Namesake
In 1984, theSee also
References