Richard Ellington Hawes

A memorial service for Colonel Richard Ellington Hawes, USMC (Ret.), will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday at Lord and Stephens Funeral Home in Athens.
The eulogy will be delivered by Marcus Fechheimer.
Colonel Hawes, 87, who passed away on Monday, August 17, at his home in Athens, was the son of the late Admiral and Mrs. Richard E. Hawes of Thomson.
He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Marian Marshall Hawes of Athens; one daughter, Christy Hawes (Tom) Brown of Thomson; and three sons, Rick (Karen) Hawes of Thomson; Mark (Claire) Hawes of Ft. Mill, SC; Eric (Catherina) Hawes of Midlothian, VA; ten grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
He is also survived by a nephew, Paul (Diane) Watson of Thomson, and a cousin, Adelle D. Adams of Thomson.
He is preceded in death by a sister, Ruth Hawes Watson of Thomson; and a daughter, Barbie Hawes Ray of Thomson.
Colonel Hawes graduated from the University of Georgia in 1951 with an AB in Journalism. He received his Master's Degree in Education from Boston University in 1971.
Hawes enlisted in the U. S. Navy in 1946. Before entering the US Marine Corps in April of 1951, he attended submarine school in New London, CT, eventually becoming one of very few Naval officers qualified to wear both submarine dolphins and aviator wings.
Hawes' career included combat duty in Korea as an Infantry Platoon Commander and multiple tours in Vietnam, where he flew hundreds of missions in his beloved A4 Skyhawk attack jet. In 1971 he was deployed as Commander of the Advance Echelon Task Force Delta, Thailand to construct a Marine Airbase in Nam Phong, widely known as the "Rose Garden" for its rugged conditions. In 1974, he assumed Command of Marine Aircraft Group 32, where he led the establishment of the first Marine Corps Harrier squadron.
Other tours of duty included Armed Forces Southern Europe based in Naples Italy, Commanding Officer of the Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 1 in Japan, Commanding Officer of the 36th Marine Amphibious Unit, Assistant Chief of Staff at the Marine Corps Base in Okinawa, Japan, and Commanding Officer and Professor of Naval Science (NROTC), at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky.
His personal decorations include: Legion of Merit with Combat "V", the Meritorious Service Medal, 14 Strike Flight Awards of the Air Medal; the Navy Commendation Medal with the Combat "V;" and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with the Silver Star.
In lieu of flowers, the Family asks that donations be made to the Wounded Warriors Project, the Shriners Hospital for Children, the US Humane Society, or the University of Georgia Student Veterans Resource Center.