Earl Hawkins, died Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011. I had the honor of discussing his life aboard the USS Caperton on many occasions, and he was a constant cheeleader for this website and will be greatly missed.
A number of years ago Earl turned over his own website to me which to this day is still hosted by USSCaperton.info you can visit his site at www.capertondd650.com
He was known as Dad, Grandpa, Red, Hawk, Uncle Earl, PawPaw, friend and neighbor. He was raised in Missisippi and enlisted in the Navy near the start of World War II and served on the USS Caperton all over the South Pacific. His was the second ship into Tokyo Bay for the surrender of Japan. Earl was a certified scuba diver, counselor at the Star House in Fort Worth and his home was a frequent place for impromptu AA meetings. He was a pilot, an air traffic controller and a Mason. Earl was short of stature and huge of heart. He had friends all over the world in regular communication with him. He had a constant stream of kids in his life, many of whom considered him Dad or Uncle Earl.