Veteran receives unexpected momento -- 70 years later

Nov. 29--When Guy Hawkins Jr. of Sherman reminisces about his younger brother who died in World War II he now has something extra to add. An unexpected Veterans Day gift recently gave him information he never knew and an item that will be a treasured family heirloom.

It was March of 1945. In just a few short months World War II would end. First Lt. Robert L. Hawkins, a fresh-faced, 19-year-old U.S. Air Force pilot out of Decatur, Illinois, was on his 74th combat flight in southern Germany near Eberbach. It would be his last. It is believed his P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bomber was hit by ground fire. It crashed into a heavily wooded area and Hawkins died. He was the only one of Guy and Mabel Hawkins' four sons -- all serving in the military during World War II -- who didn't survive.

He was first buried in Germany, then his remains were disinterred by the U.S. military in 1949 and returned to Decatur. Mourning the loss were his parents; his twin brother, William; two more brothers, Guy Hawkins Jr. and Jack K. Hawkins; a sister; two stepbrothers; and a stepsister.

Seventy years later, Guy Hawkins Jr., at 93, is the only remaining sibling. He served in the Air Force for 22 years. At the time of his brother's death, he was an instructor at an airfield in Kingman, Arizona. After the military, he worked in civil service for about 10 years and then moved to Grayson County and operated the food service program at Grayson College for a dozen or so years before retiring permanently. He and his wife raised six children and the years flew by. He moved to The Renaissance in Sherman six years ago. He smiles as he remembers Robert "Bob" Hawkins.

"We were probably typical brothers. He was three years younger, so I was just old enough to look at him as my kid brother," Hawkins said.

Hawkins thought he'd learned everything there was to know about his younger brother's final flight until receiving a call earlier this fall. The caller from Decatur, Illinois, had traced Hawkins to The Renaissance and left a message asking him to return the call. Curious, he called back.

The caller -- a woman -- had unbelievable news: A bracelet belonging to his brother had been found at the site of the plane crash decades ago. The Veterans Affairs wanted to return it to the family.

"I had no idea he had a bracelet," Hawkins said. "That made it really sink home."

The standard, metal bracelet bore the name "Bob Hawkins" on the front and his military identification number on the back. The piece of jewelry had been discovered at the crash site decades before by a German man who had kept it with his family.

The crash itself was witnessed by the father of Klaus Deschner who developed a fascination with that period of history. As an adult, for a hobby, he began locating and documenting World War II aircraft crash sites in Germany. It was estimated there were more than 25,000 plane crashes there during World War II -- planes from all nations. Deschner was especially interested in Hawkins' crash site because his father had seen it. He'd been trying, without success, to find out the name of the pilot for 17 years.

An article about Deschner's hobby brought him an unusual call. A young man said he knew the name of the pilot (at Robert Hawkins' crash site). His grandfather had been at the crash site three days after the crash and found a bracelet. It had been with his family every since. Deschner started tracing the name which led to Kathie Powless, superintendent of the Veteran's Assistance Commission of Macon County where Hawkins' hometown of Decatur, Illinois is located. She made an appeal for help in finding the young pilot's family.

It was answered by William Hanes, president of Decatur'sKorean War Veterans Association, and by Michael Reynolds, a genealogist with the Decatur Genealogical Society. Neither realized the other had taken up the search until running into each other at the Decatur Public Library. They combined their efforts, researching everything they could find and uncovering information on the young pilot, as well as his family members.

A Hawkins family friend, not realizing Guy Hawkins was still alive and well, offered to accept the bracelet. However, a news story about the bracelet brought in yet another call from a woman whose husband thought at least one of the Hawkins brothers was still alive and offered to track him down. The search was successful and the woman called The Renaissance. Hawkins responded, and the result was a Veterans Day celebration like none he'd ever experienced.

Rather than have the bracelet shipped to him as was offered, Hawkins agreed to travel to Decatur for a special Veterans Day presentation. He was accompanied by three of his six children -- Susan West, Bob (his brother's namesake) and Bill Hawkins.

"We certainly didn't know what to expect and, obviously, it was very emotional," Hawkins said.

The presentation of the bracelet to Hawkins was just a part of a Veterans Day program at the Decatur Civic Center.

"We didn't expect that kind of ceremony. ... We went through the normal motions of saluting the flag and having the colors brought in," Hawkins said. "Then they started introducing people involved in the search for the bracelet including the two gentlemen who did all the research on it and turned all the information over to the VA representative. She put it all together and had direct contact with the people in Germany. The bracelet and a letter or two from the German people were en route to Decatur while we were talking about it."

Not only did Hawkins get his brother's bracelet, but two binders of history and photos on his brother and his other immediate family members. The information even included genealogy on the family, photos of grave sites, photos of the site of the plane crash, photos of the German family who had held on to the bracelet for so long, and of Deschner, along with other facts and information Hawkins wasn't aware of. There were even copies of German newspaper articles concerning the search and the plane crash and photos of other items recovered from the crash site.

"It's touching to know that so many people cared about somebody they did not know at all and just wanted to help trace that bracelet to its rightful owner," Susan West, Hawkins' daughter, said. "I mean, you just get overwhelmed at that thought."

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