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John Druse "Bud" Hawk
Medal of Honor - WWII

     Rank: Sergeant
     Organization: Weapons Plt, Co E, 2d Bn, 359th Inf, 90th Inf. Div.)
     Date Of Action: 20 August 1944
     Place Of Action: near Chambois, France

"I've got this disease," says Bud Hawk. "You do the work first and do the fun later." It's not that the retired school principal isn't interested in having fun, it's just that he lives life under a list of priorities that places work ahead of recreation. Perhaps that philosophy explains why, when in 1945 the President asked him to come to Washington, D.C. to receive his Medal of Honor, Bud told the President he didn't have time to make the trip. Less than a year earlier the 20-year old soldier had bravely stood on a hillside in France, fully exposed to enemy fire, to direct the return fire from his own soldiers. Wounded early in the battle, Bud Hawk had every excuse to leave the work at hand to other men. Instead, he determined that he would get done what had to be done now, recuperate later. That work consisted of pitting himself against tanks while armed only with a bazooka, standing on an open hillside directing fire at the enemy, and making the dangerous trip back to his own destroyers to correct their aim….twice. When the chores were done, his efforts were largely responsible for crushing two attempts by the enemy to break out of the area, and the capture of more than 500 prisoners. Bud Hawk came home a hero and returned to his home in the Pacific Northwest. The Puget Sound offered a great place to do chores, because when the chores were done and it was time for fun, there was nothing he enjoyed more than fishing. But even fishing had to wait for other chores. Despite having graduated from high school before entering the service, Bud had been away for a while. So when the President summoned him to Washington, Bud Hawk was too busy preparing to return to school, the same high school he had graduated from two years earlier, to "brush up" on his studies. After high school there was college, then six years as a schoolteacher, nine years as both a teacher and a school principal, and the remainder of a 31-year career in education as a principal. By the time Bud Hawk finally retired he had done a lot of chores. He had also caught a lot of fish. Bud sincerely believes that if you get the chores done, there will be time left over for fun. His approach to life has worked well for him. He is an accomplished furniture maker, which for him is actually more fun than work. He is a respected educator who still speaks to children and visits schools as his schedule allows. He still teaches from time to time at McChord Air Force Base. He has found that even after retirement, there are chores to be done. Of course, whenever he goes on the road to visit others, you can expect a gift of his home-smoked salmon. It's Bud's way of reminding everyone that he still finds time for fun. As for his Medal of Honor, if Bud Hawk was too busy to come to Washington, D.C. and get it, then Washinton, D.C. would come to him. "They told me when they called me to come to the Capitol that I could bring two guests," Bud recalls. "Well, I didn't want to take another long train ride, I had important things to do, and who would I have taken with me?" So it was that, on June 21, 1945 President Harry S Truman came to Washington State to present the Medal of Honor to John Druse "Bud" Hawk on the Capitol steps in his home state. The best part of it all? "By him doing out here, ALL my family and friends could share the occasion." One has to wonder, when the ceremony was over, if Bud Hawk left the President with some of his famous smoked salmon to take back home.

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Medal of Honor
Convention 2001

September 11 - 16
Boston, MA

Every year the living recipients of the Medal of Honor have an official reunion. Last year the reunion was held in Pueblo, Colorado and the 2001 Convention will be held September 11-16 in Boston. This occasion is a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity for those who wish to participate. Never again will you see so many true American heroes gathered together in one place. Below is a list of some of the public activities you can plan to participate in:

ACTIVITIES OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC EVENT: State House Presentation PLACE: State House, Boston DATE: Thursday, September 13, 2001 TIME: 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. DRESS: Business Attire COST: No cost DESCRIPTION: The State House Presentation is the first opportunity that the general public will have to meet and talk with the Medal of Honor recipients. A short, formal ceremony will be featured. ---------------------------------- EVENT: Memorial Service PLACE: Charlestown Navy Yard, pier side USS CONSTITUTION DATE: Friday, September 14, 2001 TIME: 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. DRESS: Business Casual COST: No cost DESCRIPTION: The Medal of Honor recipients and the US Navy will jointly engage in a memorial service. ---------------------------------- EVENT: Patriot Award Dinner PLACE: Sheraton Boston Hotel DATE: Friday, September 14, 2001 TIME: Reception: 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Dinner: 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. ATTENDEES: Limited to 1,200 people DRESS: Black Tie COST: $300/person (sponsorship opportunities are also available) DESCRIPTION: The Patriot Award Dinner is the premiere event of the Societyąs Convention. The Patriot Award Dinner will feature a speaking program and an awards presentation of The Patriot Award to Richard J. Egan, Chairman Emeritus of EMC Corporation, The "Tex McCrary" Award to Tim Russert, NBC News and The Bob Hope Award to John McDermott, Celtic Tenor. (WEBMASTER'S NOTE: I strongly encourage all who can, to attend the Patriot Award Dinner. While I understand that the cost of dinner is not cheap, for the value, it is a bargain. My family and I have never felt we could "afford to attend one of these dinners", while at the same time we also believed we could NOT afford to MISS it. For us, those we have attended have been experiences we will never forget. The cost of tickets is money well spent!)
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For More Information call (617) 439-7700

This Week In

United States
History

U.S. SPY SENTENCED IN RUSSIA August 19, 1960 MOSCOW, USSR American pilot Francis Gary Powers was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for espionage against the Soviet Union after his aircraft "Black Lady" was shot down last May. Powers reportedly had expressed "sincere repentance and confession of his guilt", which spared him the death penalty in a COLD WAR incident that would become famous for the aircraft involved, the U-2 spy plane. The super-secret U-2 was capable of high altitude flights over the Soviet Union, and on May 1 one such flight over the USSR became the focus of the incident. Grancis Gary Powers, a pilot for the CIA, was flying high over the USSR when a SAM-2 missile did what the Russian fighter planes could not, reach into the atmosphere high enough to hit and destroy the U-2. The American spy plane crashed near Sverdlovsk shortly after Powers bailed out. The captured American pilot became the subject of much controversy as the Russians prepared to try him for espionage, threatening to execute him as a spy. The tensions over the U-2 incident created a tension during the period of the cold war exceeded perhaps only by the Cuban missile crisis two years later. Sentenced to 10 years of solitary confinement on August 19th, Powers actually spent nearly two years in prison until exchanged for Russian spy Rudolf Abel in February 1962. Upon returning home, Francis Gary Powers found employment as a helicopter pilot for television station KNBC in Los Angeles unti his death on August 1, 1977. Francis Gary Powers, one of the most widely known names of the Cold War, was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

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Medal of Honor Legislation Proposed

July 18, 2001 Washington, DC Congressman Curt Weldon of PA has introduced long-needed legislation that will positively impact the preservation of the Medal of Honor and close up loop-holes in previous legislation designed to protect the Medal for abuse by imposters. Titles the LIVING AMERICAN HERO APPRECIATION ACT, Congressman Weldon's H.R. 2561 would do the following: 1) Increase the monthly stipend paid to living recipients of the Medal of Honor from its current rate of $600 per month to $1,000 per month. 2) Allow Medal of Honor recipients to obtain, at no cost, an additional medal for display or exhibit purposes. 3) Provide criminal penalties for unlawfully selling the Medal of Honor, its ribbon or rosette, as well as criminal penalties for falsely or fraudulently holding ones self out to be a Medal of Honor recipient. 4) Appropriate Nondiscretionary funds from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in the amount of $500,000 as a grant for the operation of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. 5) Authorize the spouses of living Medal of Honor recipients space-available transporation on Department of Defense aircraft, when said spouse is accompanying her husband on an official DOD activity. EDITORIAL COMMENTS: HomeOfHeroes.com makes every effort to consistently avoid political commentary, or to become involved in issues of politics or policy. We see our role as educational, not political. In this instance however, we believe it is very important to make our feelings on this legislation very clear. This is very badly needed legislation. If there were only 150 living bald eagles left in our Nation, what kinds of funds would the US Congress appropriate to preserve this symbol of the Untied States of America. Today, there are only 150 living recipients of the Medal of Honor, 150 men who travel often to speak to schools, veterans organizations, and in military functions. Most of these men do so without honorarium and often at their own expense. Without complaint, each answers hundreds of letters each month, often providing free autographed copies of their citations and photos. The provisions of this legislation is certainly appropriate. The Congressional Medal of Honor Society is the official organization charged with the tasks of preserving the history and heritage of the Medal of Honor, fostering patriotism, and caring for the needs of these American heroes. The Society has long struggled with budgetary concerns. It is a shame that such legislation to support this organization has not been forthcoming sooner. Finally, where there is already criminal penalties for selling the Medal of Honor or for unauthorized display of the Medal of Honor, there are far too many loopholes. At present, a person who falsely claims to be a Medal of Honor recipient can not be prosecuted unless found to posess or wear the unauthorized Medal. This legislation would close some of these loop holes and make prosecution of these phony recipients much easier. SUPPORT: Congressman Weldon's H.R. 2561 has been referred to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. Seven additional congressmen have signed on as cosponsors. They are: Rep. Lane Evans Rep. Benjamin Gilman Rep. John M. McHugh Rep. John Murtha Rep. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. Rep. Ike Skelton Rep. Christopher H. Smith We encourage all who love the heritage of this great award, and those who appreciate our few living heroes who wear it, to monitor progress of this legislation, and contact your own congressman or congresswoman and urge their support.
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Text of the
Proposed Legislation

In 1995 Colorado Congressman Scott McInnis Introduced similar legislation to increase the MOH pension from its rate at that time of $400 to $800 with the introduction of H.R. 2286. Though the bill did not get out of committee, a subsequent bill raised the pension to the present rate of $600. At the time of the McInnis resolution, Doug and Pam Sterner printed a 4-page brochure and mailed it to all members of Congress. The text of that brochure was later included as a special article at HomeOfHeroes.com. Click on the link below to read it.
Medal of Honor - Blessing or Burden

How to Contact Your Representatives

News Photos

On June 16th Roy P. Benavidez Park was dedicated in ceremonies in Colorado Springs.

Pictured (l-r) Sid Slagter (Author of Chicken Soup for the Veterans Soul), Doug Sterner, Delbert Schmeling, and Noel Benavides (Roy's son).

RIGHT: Medal of Honor Recipient Joe Jackson signs autographs for scouts of Troop 69 in Moses Lake, WA where he was speaking for National Volunteer Day. (Story and photo courtesy of the Columbia Basin Herald) See Story below.

HomeOfHeroes.com webmaster Doug Sterner was honored by the United States Congress on July 23, 2001. At right is a thumbnail of this recognition from the Congressional Record. (linked to larger image)

It's a Volunteer Thing
Event highlighting volunteerism in Basin (WA) deemed a success
By DAVID EDWARDS Herald staff writer Moses Lake gave its best hero's welcome Saturday, and it brought smiles to 1oe Jackson's face. The veteran of three wars and recipient of the Medal of Honor drew an appreciative crowd to McCosh Park in celebration of the Basin's volunteers. As Jackson stepped out of his limousine, a line of greeters formed to shake the 78-year-old man's hand. And despite temperatures in the high 90s, nothing was warmer than Jackson's reception. The volunteer celebration was well attended, thanks to the low- priced concessions and several activities. But only a small portion of those gathered at the park braved the heat to hear Jackson and three others speak. Mayor Richard Pearce of Moses Lake, Mayor Dick Keeney of Warden and state Rep. Gary Chandler preceded Jackson at the microphone. "I've never heard of anyone who sat in a board meeting and decided to get the Medal of Honor," Keeney said. "Here was a man who volunteered on a second's notice. Can you imagine who must have been riding in that cockpit with him? The greatest volunteer of all: the good Lord." Keeney also read a letter from U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, who could not attend the event. Chandler told audience members to imagine how much they would pay in taxes if it weren't for volunteers. He also recalled his first volunteer service in Moses Lake, a stint as a reserve police officer. Then Julie Lund, president of the Moses Lake High School Key Club and Jackson's escort, introduced the man of the hour. Jackson took the microphone and "volunteered to remove his (suit) coat," so he could feel more comfortable. " Volunteerism originated more than 2,800 years ago, " Jackson told the audience. "How do I know that? It says so in the book of Isaiah." Then he cited the chapter and verse and read the passage. In his address, Jackson also suggested calling volunteers "community leaders" and having cities adopt resolutions showing appreciation for local volunteers. He said volunteers lead by doing the right thing. And for the times people struggle to figure out what is the right thing, Jackson offered some advice; "Of all the options you have, select the one that's the most difficult. That's probably the right one." He concluded with stories from his own experience as a volunteer and the times he saw children change for the better because of his admonitions. Following the speeches, Jackson cut a cake honoring all the Basin volunteers. He had to set down his plate of cake to sign autographs for the people who had formed a line at his table, a group that included four Boy Scouts from Troop 69. Pearce, Jackson and a small group of veterans later paused in front of the park's memorial to two Moses Lake war heroes, Joe Hooper and Jim Fleming. Jackson had mentioned both of them in his remarks. Prior to the volunteer celebration, Jackson had lunch with several 1ocal dignitaries, including Lorene Vari Est. She is a Moses Lake resident and the niece of Jimmy Howard, the most decorated soldier in the Vietnam War. Jackson presented Van Est and her husband with a group photograph and a folio describing Howard's life and accomplishments. Pearce and Jackson also shared some war memories from Vietnam, a war in which they both served as fighter pilots. Throughout the day, Jackson's Medal of Honor rested above his shirt and tie. The medal is the country's highest award for valor. It is given only after exhaustive research and documentation. Most of the medal's recipients died performing the meritorious action that earned them the honor. Ken Sterner, the executive director of the North Columbia Community Action Council, was one of the primary organizers of the volunteer celebration. He said Saturday's program was something of a trial run to see if the community would support such an idea. He was pleased with the turnout and deemed the celebration a success. Based on those results, the event will run again next year, Sterner said.
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Site News at HomeOfHeroes.com

Please take a few minutes to check out our newest feature, THE WRITER'S BLOCK. Since launching our site 3 years ago we've received some wonderful stories, poems, art and more from others. We are building this new series of pages to share some of these items with you.
We are happy to welcome our first commercial sponsor for HomeOfHeroes.com, ASPIRE, Inc. of Dallas, Texas. Aspire's banners now appear on our main page in thanks for their sponsorship of our continuing efforts. Normally the company, which provides shirts for several military posts, does not advertise. Their sponsorship was offered primarily because they believe in HomeOfHeroes.com and wanted to help keep us online. For this reason their banner does not link to any pages, it simply announces their presence and financial support of this project. We are still looking for additional sponsors to keep us doing what we do.
With a 3-week break between semesters (your webmaster supports his family as a part time instructor at a local community college), I am able to devote more hours per day to this web effort. Please take the time to enjoy our new series on the Spanish-American War, or also to visit Wesley Fox's new website. Between now and the time classes begin again on August 20th, I'll be working around the clock to add several more pages and some new features.
The Medal of Honor Database is finally progressing well after 6-weeks of lost time during my computer crash. We now expect our limited edition, signature database to be mailed no later than August 30th.
The response to last June's Medal of Honor stories in READER'S DIGEST was so good, a follow-up series is being prepared for that magazines Spanish edition. It will publish in time for Veterans Day and, if all goes as planned, will feature Silvestre Herrera (WWII), Joseph Rodriguez (Korea) and Jay Vargas (Vietnam).
HomeOfHeroes.com was featured in an on-line magazine last month in one of the most well written articles on the Medal of Honor I've seen. I encourage you to click on the link here to enjoy it. BEHIND THE MEDAL by Ronald Carpenter. Mr. Carpenter plans to submit this story to additional periodicals.
Imagine what it is like trying to keep nearly 40,000 files organized in 668 different folders. That is the challenge I face each time I work on the HomeOfHeroes.com website which now features more than 15,000 separate pages (if you print it you would require 120 REAMS of paper...more than 60,000 sheets of paper). Over the next few weeks I will be moving some files to better organize, as well as deleting some of the older, temporary files. Most major folder changes will occur after 2 A.M. so as not to disrupt the bulk of our visitors, but if you try to access a page and don't find it, please bear with us. Whenever you see broken links or images that are not displaying, please e-mail me so I can fix them. (The site is so big, when I move files sometimes my Front Page program isn't even able to keep up with the changes, resulting in broken links.)

The Filing Cabinet

Archived Stories from the news...Past and Present

Much can be learned when we peruse some of the stories and articles published by newspapers and magazines through the years. We have begun compiling some of these stories from our files, as well as from articles sent to us by others. Click on the filing cabinet at left to enjoy this new and quickly growing feature.

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