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Dr Albert Whitfield Hawkes

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Dr Albert Whitfield Hawkes Veteran

Birth
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA
Death
17 Dec 1943 (aged 37)
Kiriwina-Goodenough District, Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea
Burial
Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA Add to Map
Plot
Sec: 2, Site: E-336
Memorial ID
View Source
Major Albert Whitfield Hawkes, M.D.,

The son of U.S. Senator Albert W. Hawkes and Frances Hawkes, Albert Whitfield, was born on June 23, 1906 in Wilmette, Cook County, Illinois. Prior to his election to Congress, the elder Hawkes was a chemist and chemical sales manager. Albert and Frances moved to Montclair during the 1930s.

Known by his middle name, Whitfield attended Montclair Academy and Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts. He graduated from Princeton University in 1929, then pursued his medical education at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Hawkes completed his internship at Los Angeles General Hospital and National Hospital, London, England.

On June 17, 1937, A. Whitfield Hawkes, 30, married Jane White, a Montclair native, at ceremonies in London, England. The couple made their home at 114 East 71st Street, New York, New York, where Dr. Hawkes, a neurologist, established his practice. In 1940, Whitfield and Jane welcomed their daughter, Frances. Their son, Stephen Whitfield, later completed their family.

In 1942, Dr. Hawkes entered the United States Army as an officer with the Medical Corps. Major Hawkes' vital services would be needed in the coming years as American fighting men engaged in global combat.

A Deadly Encounter:

Early in 1943, Dr. Hawkes was stationed in the South Pacific, based at Kiriwina-Goodenough District, Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea. The hazardous conditions in steamy, humid regions were well known. At times, combat casualties could be less deadly than natural enemies of disease, insect-born illnesses in the stifling environment. Troops, unaccustomed to jungle warfare, battled those elements amidst the sometimes tangled, overgrown thickets that disoriented and frightened. Weary men fell prey to more than guns.

In June 1943, American forces found Woodlark and Kiriwina Islands relatively undefended and used those locations as airbases. Located in the southern Solomon Sea about 180 miles east of Buna, their capture was a valuable precursor for American General Headquarters planners and its lower echelon combat commanders and service support units. Dr. Hawkes was transferred to island duty, serving in a field hospital, treating men who suffered from combat exhaustion and what is now known as post traumatic stress disorder.

While on duty in the Kiriwina-Goodenough District, Whitfield contracted a tick-born fever. Near-constant downpours in the island's environment sustained conducive conditions for insect-borne diseases which could be fatal. Today, antibiotics, such as doxycycline, are administered with success in the course of treatment. However, the medication would not become available until the 1960s.

On December 17, 1943, Dr. Hawkes, 37, succumbed to the infectious fever. Awarded the Purple Heart, A. Whitfield Hawkes was interred at the United States Army Air Force Cemetery on New Guinea until the war ended. He was laid to final rest in a private memorial service on October 17, 1949, at Arlington National Cemetery, Section 2, Site E-336, Arlington, Virginia.
Major Albert Whitfield Hawkes, M.D.,

The son of U.S. Senator Albert W. Hawkes and Frances Hawkes, Albert Whitfield, was born on June 23, 1906 in Wilmette, Cook County, Illinois. Prior to his election to Congress, the elder Hawkes was a chemist and chemical sales manager. Albert and Frances moved to Montclair during the 1930s.

Known by his middle name, Whitfield attended Montclair Academy and Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts. He graduated from Princeton University in 1929, then pursued his medical education at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Hawkes completed his internship at Los Angeles General Hospital and National Hospital, London, England.

On June 17, 1937, A. Whitfield Hawkes, 30, married Jane White, a Montclair native, at ceremonies in London, England. The couple made their home at 114 East 71st Street, New York, New York, where Dr. Hawkes, a neurologist, established his practice. In 1940, Whitfield and Jane welcomed their daughter, Frances. Their son, Stephen Whitfield, later completed their family.

In 1942, Dr. Hawkes entered the United States Army as an officer with the Medical Corps. Major Hawkes' vital services would be needed in the coming years as American fighting men engaged in global combat.

A Deadly Encounter:

Early in 1943, Dr. Hawkes was stationed in the South Pacific, based at Kiriwina-Goodenough District, Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea. The hazardous conditions in steamy, humid regions were well known. At times, combat casualties could be less deadly than natural enemies of disease, insect-born illnesses in the stifling environment. Troops, unaccustomed to jungle warfare, battled those elements amidst the sometimes tangled, overgrown thickets that disoriented and frightened. Weary men fell prey to more than guns.

In June 1943, American forces found Woodlark and Kiriwina Islands relatively undefended and used those locations as airbases. Located in the southern Solomon Sea about 180 miles east of Buna, their capture was a valuable precursor for American General Headquarters planners and its lower echelon combat commanders and service support units. Dr. Hawkes was transferred to island duty, serving in a field hospital, treating men who suffered from combat exhaustion and what is now known as post traumatic stress disorder.

While on duty in the Kiriwina-Goodenough District, Whitfield contracted a tick-born fever. Near-constant downpours in the island's environment sustained conducive conditions for insect-borne diseases which could be fatal. Today, antibiotics, such as doxycycline, are administered with success in the course of treatment. However, the medication would not become available until the 1960s.

On December 17, 1943, Dr. Hawkes, 37, succumbed to the infectious fever. Awarded the Purple Heart, A. Whitfield Hawkes was interred at the United States Army Air Force Cemetery on New Guinea until the war ended. He was laid to final rest in a private memorial service on October 17, 1949, at Arlington National Cemetery, Section 2, Site E-336, Arlington, Virginia.



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