Clifford A. Hawkins

1918 - 2000

Army
WWII

Their Story

Clifford Armisted Hawkins was born July 27, 1918, in Notasulga, Alabama, to James Pinckey Hawkins and Lela Bridges Hawkins.[1] The family lived on a farm in Macon County, Alabama, in 1920. Clifford had five siblings, and his maternal grandmother lived with them.[2] He had four years of high school.

At the age of 22, Clifford enlisted in the Alabama National Guard on November 25, 1940, and was assigned to the Medical Department.[3] He served in the 31st Infantry Division, also known as the “Dixie” Division’. The division was made up of men from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi, which is why it was known as the “Dixie” Division.[4] There were also some men from Michigan and Illinois.

The 31st Division spent several years training in the United States and then, in 1944, it was sent to New Guinea and later the Philippine Islands.

Clifford married Lieutenant Rosedith ‘Rosie’ Van Hoorebeck on October 4, 1943, in the post chapel at La-Garde General Hospital in New Orleans, where Rosie was stationed.[5]

Lieutenant Rosie Hawkins was also sent to New Guinea and then to the Philippines. In March of 1944, Clifford was admitted to a hospital and diagnosed with Verruca plantaris (plantar warts) and developed an infection after surgery to remove them.[6]

After the war, Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins took up residence in Rock Island, Illinois. Clifford worked for Illinois Bell Telephone Company in Moline, Illinois, retiring after 31 years of service.[7] Rosie worked as a registered nurse at St. Luke’s Hospital in Davenport, Iowa, retiring after 20 years.

Clifford was a member of Twin Cities Lions Club and the Moline American Legion. He served as past president of National Telephone Pioneers of America of Moline, Illinois.
Clifford and Rosie were married 57 years before Clifford’s passing on September 17, 2000, and had a son, Jimmy Richard Hawkins, Sr. Clifford died in Princeton, Kentucky.[8]

Clifford A Hawkins’ memorial page – Honor Veterans Legacies at VLM (va.gov)


[1] 18 Sep 2000, 18 – The Paducah Sun at Newspapers.com

[2] Ancestry.com – 1920 United States Federal Census

[3] Fold3 – Clifford A Hawkins in WWII Army Enlistment Records

[4] Thirty-first “Dixie” Division | Encyclopedia of Alabama

[5] 10 Oct 1943, 22 – The Montgomery Advertiser at Newspapers.com

[6] U.S., World War II Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954 – Ancestry.com

[7] Clifford A Hawkins (1918-2000) – Find a Grave Memorial

[8] 18 Sep 2000, 18 – The Paducah Sun at Newspapers.com