Greenville Army Air Base
WFBC And The Blue Ridge Network
July 21, 1944 - 6- 6:30 PM
| ANN: | Back from 50 missions in the Southwest Pacific where he flew 208
combat hours against such formidable Jap strongholds as Lae, Madang, Wewak, Salamaua,
Hansa Bay, Cape Gloucester, Kevieng and Rebaul, comes our guest flying soldier for the
evening. he was attached to the famed Falcon Unit of the Tree Top Terrors, a hard hitting
organization of Mitchell bombers whose skip bombing and strafing tactics have been so
successful against the enemy. he has been awarded the Silver Star, the Air Medal with an
Oak Leaf Cluster, and has been recommended for the Distinguished Flying Cross. He's now an
instructor in Squadron "P". Ladies and Gentlemen, we'd like for you to meet
T/Sgt. Alfred J. Hawkes... radio gunner from Modesto, California!
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| Hawkes: | Well, Sargent, down in the southwest pacific when you shoot at something, you expect a
return of fire. here in Greenville about all you look for is an echo and some fast talk.
hey, what am I saying! After all, I'M an instructor now!
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| ANN: | All jokes aside, Sargent Hawkes, suppose you tell us something about that big raid on
Kavieng, new Ireland, for which you were awarded the Silver Star?
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| Hawkes: | A large flight of Mitchells- with Lightnings and Thunderbolts flying top cover -
dropped in on Kavieng to knock out the airfields, supply and harbor installations. I was
radioman and tail gunner in the lead plane, which was attached to the Falcon Unit of the
Tree Top Terrors, and our job was to come in at low level, drop or delayed-action bombs,
and strafe the enemy.
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| ANN: | Was your B-25 specifically equipped for this type of work?
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| Hawkes: | I'll let you be the judge. We had eight 50-caliber machine guns in the nose -
two in the top turret position - two in the tail - and two in the waist position... 14 in
all.
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| ANN: | Did you catch the Nips by surprise?
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| Hawkes: | I don't know how surprised they were, but they sent up the heaviest flak barrage we
ever encountered. After dropping our bombs we pulled up a half mile past the target.
Suddenly we spotted one of our planes going down. Our pilot - who was flight and squadron
commander - turned back to fly protective cover for the disabled bomber. When it hit the
water, we flew low and kicked out our life-raft for the crew. then the Major ordered all
other planes to return to base.
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| ANN: | But you boys in the lead plane stayed around to keep the Japs from strafing your
buddies in the life-raft?
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| Hawkes: | Yes, during the next hour and 20 minutes we "sweated out" attacks from enemy
planes and a Jap Corvette, but nothing happened. Finally a PBY Flying Boat landed and
picked up the crew from our squadron - along with three other crews from planes shot out
of our formation.
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| ANN: | You must have been running low on gas by now, weren't you, Sargent?
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| Hawkes: | And how... in fact we were so low on fuel we had to make a forced landing on a Cape
Gloucester Airstrip, which had just been captured by the Marines.
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| ANN: | What's this I hear about you being in a movie or something?
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| Hawkes: | My group took part in a motion picture film, titled "Attack.". which shows
Marines and soldiers landing on New Britain. Our action took part in the sky, so we didn't
come in for many of the closeups.
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| ANN: | Weren't you in that paratroop invasion of Lae, New Guinea?
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| Hawkes: | Yes, I was radioman and gunner in the lead plane, when hundreds of our paratroopers
bailed out over the Markham Valley, and outflanked the Japs, leading to their defeat at
Lae. that was probably the most beautiful and impressive sight I saw in the Southwest
Pacific.
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| ANN: | Did you bring your plane back to the states with you?
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| Hawkes: | Nope... another crew took over. However, I received a letter the other day from our
former crew chief, T/Sgt. Ed Bowen -- A Greenville boy, incidentally -- saying the
"Red Wrath" had finally gone down after 90 missions.
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| ANN: | In closing, Sergeant Hawkes, would you mind telling us something about your raids on
Vunakanau Airdrome at Rabaul, for which you were recommended by your CO for the DFC?
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| Hawkes: | I'd like to pass on that one, Sergeant.
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| ANN: | Then - with your permission I'd like to read a portion of the recommendation by your
commanding officer. Shall I proceed?
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| Hawkes: | I can't very well refuse, can I?
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| ANN: | This is merely a portion of the recommendation: Quote. :During the target run through
heavy anti-aircraft fire, Sgt. Hawkes strafed with his waist guns, damaging a Betty Bomber
and silencing a machine gun. During a ten minute running fight with approximately 30
fighters after leaving the target, he beat off repeated attacks and was seen to damage two
of the attacking planes by his fire. through his courage and skill, Sgt. Hawkes
contributed materially to the success of the mission and the safety of his crew and
flight." End quote. Any comment, Sergeant?
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| Hawkes: | The CO called it bravery... while I prefer to call it LUCK!
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| ANN: | Thank you, Sergeant Hawkes, and here's hoping your luck continues! |
(note: this is a word for word typing of the transcript of the actual interview of T/Sgt. Hawkes)