Mary Louise Hawkins- Distinguished Flying Cross

[Wardog5711]

 

The Citation for 1LT Hawkins Distinguished Flying Cross -

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to First Lieutenant (Nurse Corps), [then Second Lieutenant] Mary Louise Hawkins (ASN: N-737974), United States Army, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight while serving with the Air Transportation Command as Flight Nurse in charge of patients of a crashed evacuation airplane on Bellona Island, Solomons Group, on 26 September 1944. First Lieutenant Hawkins displayed unusual courage in rendering prompt and efficient first-aid treatment to an injured passenger immediately after the accident. Examination of the patients extricated with her from the wreckage disclosed that a wounded Marine Corps enlisted man had suffered throat injuries in the crash and was threatened with death by asphyxiation. Although badly shaken by the crash, First Lieutenant Hawkins performed an emergency operation, enabling the patient to breathe and thereby saving his life. First Lieutenant Hawkins' immediate performance of technically difficult acts despite the stress incident to the crash landing of the airplane is an example of steadfast courage which reflects great credit on herself and the Army Nurse Corps.

 

The story of her actions:

 

After serving briefly in Walla Walla, Washington State, in 1943, Second Lieutenant Mary Hawkins was deployed to the combat zones of the Pacific Theater of Operations with the Air Transport Command. Over the next 13 months she flew multiple missions and was responsible for saving the lives of countless wounded, earning the Air Medal for her professional and valiant service.

 

On September 26 1944, her C-47 evacuation aircraft landed at a makeshift airfield at Los Negros in the Admiralty Group, to recover the badly wounded from the fierce fighting in the Palau Islands.  As the Flight Surgeon quickly briefed her on the condition of her patients  and the nature of their wounds, twenty-four seriously wounded Marines were loaded aboard.  Only minutes later, the C-47 lifted off to transport the badly wounded Marines to the hospital at Guadalcanal.  During the long flight , the C-47 became lost – the compass had been erratic since they had left Los Negros, and then went out completely.  A turbulent front began to buffet the plane, forcing it to burn more fuel.  The auxiliary tanks were close to empty.

The pilot, realizing he could not reach Guadalcanal, saw a small clearing in the mostly-mountainous and small (only 6.6 square miles) island of Bellona. The engines were sputtering as the last fuel was consumed. Lieutenant Hawkins told the patients to brace themselves.

 

Gliding low over the jungle, treetops cut the airplane’s speed. And then the pilot was maneuvering to fit it into the small clearing.  The C-47 landed hard, sustaining severe damage.  One of the propellers was wrenched loose and tore through the fuselage of the aircraft, lacerating several patients and severing the trachea of one of the wounded Marines for which Lieutenant Hawkins was caring.  With the help of her surgical technician Technical Sergeant Ernest W. Miller of Newport, Oregon, and one of the patients who was mobile, she quickly worked to restore order inside the now-bloody cargo hold. The wounded were quickly evacuated and the Marine whose windpipe was nearly severed, by a broken propeller, was carried to the edge of the foreboding jungle and laid beneath a tree.  Using blankets, Lieutenant Hawkins positioned him to minimize shock and also protect him from the elements.  She administered drugs for pain.  The Marine’s airway was severely damaged, and the immediate need was to find a way to keep it open, as well as to find a way to insert a suction tube to keep the man’s throat clear until more sophisticated help became available.

 

Lacking any kind of surgical tools, Lieutenant Hawkins took one of the Mae West life preservers the aircraft carried and cut the inflation tube on the collar.  With the help of Technical Sergeant Miller, she used it to perform an emergency tracheotomy, shoving the tube down the dying Marine’s throat.  Amazingly, it bought her time.  Then, while T/Sgt Miller held the man’s tongue, Lieutenant Hawkins inserted a rectal tube attached to an Asepto syringe to begin sucking the blood from his lungs.

 

As friendly natives began to converge on the clearing, their curiosity made them more of a nuisance than a help.   T/Sgt Miller transferred the Marine back to the interior of the aircraft to get him out of the elements and give him some privacy. 1LT Hawkins then turned her attention to patching up the multiple cuts, scrapes, and lacerations of the other wounded.  Eventually the air crew and the patients were moved to the nearby native village, and learning that one of the wounded had a rudimentary understanding of their language, Miller put him in the chief’s hut to be her liaison.

 

The C-47’s radio operator was able to reach Guadalcanal before his radio died, and a flight of badly needed blood plasma was promised within a few hours.  Sadly, it never arrived – the supply aircraft was forced by the weather and impending darkness to turn back.  Meanwhile, one of the wounded who was a Navy Corpsman radioed his Naval comrades at Guadalcanal, but although they were not able to immediately send the needed plasma, a rescue effort was mounted.

That night the survivors ate dinner with the natives − broiled green bananas which were not kind to the palate.  One of the wounded began to succumb to shock and another was struck with malaria fever, but Hawkins and Miller maintained their vigil through the night.  During those dark and tenuous hours, a radio message was received that a Navy destroyer would arrive early the next day, thirteen hours after the crash landing. In the darkness the pilot, co-pilot, and three of the stronger patients made their way through the wild Solomon Islands jungle to the beach where in the early dawn, they could see the destroyer five miles off shore.

A short time later small boats from the destroyer came ashore bringing plasma, other drugs, and skilled medical professionals. Led back to the village, they continued their treatment until the survivors could be evacuated.

 

There had been twenty-four wounded but living Marines when the C-47 had been loaded the previous day. When they came out of the jungle and arrived at the hospital, there were still twenty-four living but wounded Marines, thanks not only to the skill and courage of Lieutenant Hawkins and Technical Sergeant Miller, but also due to the incredible ingenuity of the woman who found a way to do what needed to be done. Her makeshift surgery had kept him alive for nineteen hours. The Honolulu Advertiser later reported, “(Lieutenant Hawkins) took care of all the wounded and saved one man’s life, and swam her way out to a Navy vessel when the little boat in which she was transferring the last batch of casualties collapsed – ‘Its all in a day’s work,’ Lieutenant Hawkins says.”

Hawkins was promoted to First Lieutenant shortly after her heroic mission in September 1944, and logged more than 600 hours of flight time in the Pacific during the War. On July 7, 1945, at the Headquarters Pacific Division Army Transport Command at Oahu, Hawaii, both Hawkins and Technical Sergeant Miller were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

 

 

[Cybermat47]

She apparently survived the war, passing away on July 9th, 2007.

 

An absolutely amazing nurse and a credit to the US Army 

 

Had no idea of her until I read this post, thank you for sharing her story @Wardog5711!

[Soarfeat]

Thanks for sharing this story !! 

Magnificent lady and hero !!!  

Edited March 30, 2023 by Soarfeat
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