Hawes (FFG 53) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 9 text:

CommMjdiMq Offiwc CDR J. £cx ttJom lonimciiKlcr IcMtery Scott Jones was born in Coral ables, Florid.], the son of Luther , m Mary •ranees (Byrcl) Jones. He initially enlisted in the vJavy in 1974 serving tours in Virginia and Ice- nnd. Following his enlistment, Commander ()n( s attended aud graduated from Florida State niversity and subsequently attended Officers andidate School receiving his commission in l ' )82. ollowing commissioning, commander Jones .cived aboard USS HEPBURN (FF-1055) as Main ' lopulsion Assistant. In I98() he attended the nirlacc Warfare Departmetit FHead Course and ipon completion was assigned to USS JOSEPH HEWES (FF-1078) as Engineer Offict ' r. Following his tour, he served on USS SEMMES (DD-18) as .ngineering Officer from I 989- 1 99 I . n 1991 Commander Jones joined Fleet Training liroup in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as both Propul- lion Training and International Training Officer jntil 1992 when he received orders as Com- f fit d manding Officer, USS GUARDIAN (MCM-5) in 1993. While in command of GUARDIAN, the ship deployed to Korea and subsequently changed homeports during which time the crew exchanged with, and Commander lones assumed command ot USS DEVASTATOR (MCM-6). He received orders and attended the Naval War Col- lege and Armed Forces Staff College in 1995- 1996. Upon graduation he became a member of U.S. Atlantic Command ' s Joint Operation Plan- ning and Execution System (JOPES) Division, and served as a member of the USACOM ' s Deploy- able Joint Task Force Augmentation Cell (DJTFAC detaching in )ul 1999. Commander Jones ' per- sonal awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal (Two Awards), The Navy Achievement Medal, and other service medals and ribbons.

Page 8 text:

Rem Admjud Rlcitml E. HauJei Richard Eilinj ton Hawes was born in Thompson Georgia, on Friday 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 football. He earned a law degree along the way, but passed up the bar exam to coach and play pro- fessional baseball. When America entered World War I in 1 91 7, 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. In March 1926 Hawes joined USS FALCON (ARS-2) as Executive Officer. While aboard FALCON he played a key role in the salvage of USS S-51 off Block Island, Rl in September 1925. For his part in that difficult and dangerous operation Boatswain Hawes received his first Navy Cross. He also assisted in the salvaging of USS S-4, which sank off Provincetown, MA, in December 1927. On February 18, 1929, Hawes was commissioned An Ensign by a special act of Congress in recognition of his services in salvaging the S-51 and S-4. In janLiary 1940 Lieutenant Hawes assumed com- mand of USS PIGEON (ARS-6) and was serving in that role when entered World War II. On December 10, 1941 the PIGEON was docked at the Cavite Navy Yard on Manila Bay for repairs to her steering gear when Japanese warpianes attacked. Since Pearl Harbor three days before, Hawes had Main stream pressure up and the full crew aboard, ready to get underway at an instant. Lashed to the minesweeper QUAIL (AM-15), 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 sub- marine SEADRAGON (SS-194) was about to be engulfed by bombs and fire in her berth. Through heavy bombing and strafing. Lieu- tenant 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 blis- tered the shi|) ' s paint, singed off his body hair, and melted the brim of Hawes ' cap. But PIGEON ' s 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 ser- vice, earning eleven battle stars before the war ended. G; ioi C. W 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 December the new gunboat had received her second Presidential Unit Citation for shooting down sever- al enemy planes and bombarding troops. She was the only surface warship to win two Presidential Unit Citations in World War II. Except for the brief periods when he was in transit or putting USS CHANTICLER (ARS-1) and USS ANTHEDON (AS-24) into com- mission, 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 CHANTICLER into commission, he had depth charge racks instail ' -(l so he could persecute Japanese submarines. When he put ANTHEDON into commission, 927(1 of his crew were inductees and had riovpr been to sea, but he sailed directly from commissioning to the Pacific war and within two hours of his arrival was ser- vicing subn.irines. He received the Bronze Star for undaunted courage and and professional skill for his command of that shi|). As he left the Western Pacific theater in January 1945, the Commander, Submarines, Philippine Sea Frontier sent ANTHEDON a message of thanks and good wishes, describing Commander Hawes and his men as Every Ready, Ever Fearless. Hawes was promoted to vJaptain on March 25, 1945. On December 1 , 1952 he was transferred to the retired list and promoted to Rear Admiral. Rear Admiral Hawes died at his home in Thompson, Georgia, on December 30, 1968.

Page 10 text:

Bmniib t Offiwv LCOR Kern C. M Lieutenant Commander Kevin Hill was born in Winston Salem, North Carolina. After graduation from high school in Bridgewater, NJ, he attended the United States Naval Academy and was commissioned in 1987. After completing Navy Nuclear Propulsion training and Surface Warfare Officer Basic Course, he report- ed to USS MISSISSIPPI (CGN-40) in April 1989 where he served as M-1 Division Officer, Main Propul- sion Assistant and Reactor Training Assistant. In |uly 1992 Lieutenant Commander Hill transferred to Naval Guided Missile School at Dam Neck, VA where he was the Division Officer for the Phalanx Close In Weapons System Firecontrolman ' C School. Next, after completing Surface Warfare Officer Depart- ment Head School, he was assigned to the commissioning crew of USS BENFOLD (DDG-65) as Weapons Control Officer. Lieutenant Commander Hill later became USS BENFOLD ' s Combat Systems Officer. In March 1998 he transferred to USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN-71) and served as Reac- tor b. -trical Assistant. In April 2000 Lieutenant Commander Hill began Prospective Executive Offi- cer traii ng en route to USS HAWES (FFG-5.3). Lit ifenant Commander Hill holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from the Unit- ed States Naval Academy and a Masters of Science Degree in Systems Engineering from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He is a graduate of the Naval War College and the Armed Forces Staff College. His personal awards include Meritorious Service Medal, New Commendation Medal (three awards) and Navy Achievement Medal (three awards).