Lieutenant Colonel
United States Army Finance Corps
Lewis Lee Hawkins, the only son of Herman and Mary Webster Hawkins, was born in Chicago, Illinois on 8 August 1930. Herman and Mary would eventually move and raise their family in Plymouth, Indiana.
Lewis was a star athlete at Plymouth High School, playing four years on the football and basketball teams and three years on the track team. After graduating from Plymouth High School with the Class of 1948, Lewis attended Clinton, South Carolina’s Presbyterian College on a basketball scholarship and enrolled in their Army Reserve Officer Training (ROTC) program. Lewis graduated from Presbyterian College with the Class of 1952 and received his commission in the United States Army as a Second Lieutenant in the Medical Corps.
On 22 March 1953, Lewis married the former Barbara Ball at the First Methodist Church in Plymouth. After a short honeymoon, they moved to San Antonio, Texas where Lewis was stationed. From this marriage Lewis and Barbara had two sons, Terry and Ronald. Their marriage would end in 1962 when they divorced.
Lewis married the former Annette Mylander on 4 April 1964, at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oak Harbor, Ohio. At the time of their marriage, Lewis was the Executive Officer at Fort Benjamin Harrison’s United States Army Finance Center. They would move on 16 June and head for Syracuse University where Lewis obtained his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Syracuse University’s Army Comptrollership Program. From this marriage Lewis and Annette had two children, son Lee and a daughter.
Besides Fort Sam Houston, Texas and Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana; other assignments include Fort Leavenworth, Kansas where he graduated from the Army Command and General Staff College
In the early 1970’s, Lewis was the Director of the Department of Finance at U.S. Army Finance School at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. During this time period he was an active member of the Indianapolis chapter of the American Society of Military Comptrollers. Other assignments included Okinawa and Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. His final assignment came in July 1972 when he was attached to the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group to the Imperial Iranian Armed Forces in Tehran, Iran. Annette and Lee joined Lewis in Tehran where they lived in the Abass-Abad neighborhood. On the morning of 2 June 1973, as Lewis was walking from his home to a street corner to be picked up by his driver, two terrorists riding a motorcycle fired at point-blank range and fired two or three shots killing Lewis instantly.
Lewis was survived by his wife Annette; three sons, Terry, Ronald, and Lee; his parents, Herman and Mary Hawkins of Rowan, Iowa; and two sisters Mary Duran of Plymouth and Mona Crocker of Belmond, Iowa. His daughter preceded him in death.
Lieutenant Colonel Lewis Lee Hawkins, United States Army, was buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana with full military honors on 18 June 1973.
Among his awards and decorations is the Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, and the Korean Service Medal.
On 5 June 1973, the Indiana Chapter of the American Society of Military Comptrollers established the LTC Lewis L. Hawkins Award. The award is presented to the outstanding graduate of the U.S. Army Finance Captains’ Career Course, as selected by their peers and the course director. This officer demonstrated the highest caliber of professionalism, leadership, devotion to duty, and selfless service, which were the standards of LTC Lewis L. Hawkins.
Source of information:
1. Plymouth Pilot-News (Plymouth, Indiana), 23 March 1953, page 3.
2. Plymouth Pilot-News (Plymouth, Indiana), 29 April 1964, page 2.
3. The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 2 June 1973, page 1.
4. Bucks County Courier Times (Levittown, Pennsylvania), 3 June 1973, page 1.
5. Chicago Tribune, 3 June 1973, Section 1, page 3.
6. Times-News (Erie, Pennsylvania), 3 June 1973.
7. Stars and Stripes (European Edition), 3 June 1973, page 2B.
8. The Vidette-Messenger (Valpariso, Indiana), 4 June 1973, page 1.
9. The Vidette-Messenger (Valpariso, Indiana), 5 June 1973, page 7.
10. Plymouth Pilot-News (Plymouth, Indiana), 13 June 1973, page 1.
11. The Chronicle Telegram (Elyria, Ohio), 17 June 1973, page A-3.
12. Photographs courtesy Annette Mylander Hawkins, wife of Lewis Hawkins.
13. National Archives and Records Administration. Southeast Asia, Combat Area Casualties Returned Alive, 1962-1979 [database online]. Provo, Utah: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2005. Original data: [File from the U.S. Army] Casualty Information System [Archival Database]; Records of Deceased Army Personnel, Deceased Dependents of Active-Duty Army Personnel, and Active-Duty Wounded Army Personnel, 1/1/1961 - 12/1981' Records of the Adjutant General's Office, Record Group 407; National Archives at College Park, College Park, Maryland.
Lewis Hawkins, back row first from the right. Date and location of photograph unknown.
(Photograph courtesy Annette Hawkins)
Lieutenant Lewis Lee Hawkins. Date and location of photograph unknown.
(Photograph courtesy Annette Hawkins)
Captain Lewis Lee Hawkins
(Photograph courtesy Annette Hawkins)