Medal of Honor: Lloyd C. Hawks – World War II – Italy – January 1944
He crawled where others could not survive. When fire ruled the ground, he chose the wounded over his own life.
January 30, 2026
Name: Lloyd C. Hawks
Rank: Private First Class
Organization: U.S. Army
Unit: Medical Detachment, 30th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division
Place: Near Carano, Italy
Entered Service At: Park Rapids, Minnesota
Born: Becker, Minnesota
Summary of Action
On the afternoon of 30 January 1944, near Carano, Italy, Private First Class Lloyd C. Hawks, serving as a combat medic, displayed extraordinary heroism while under direct enemy counterattack. Two wounded American soldiers lay helpless in an exposed position within thirty yards of enemy lines, pinned down by intense machine-gun fire. Two riflemen attempting to reach them were driven back almost immediately, and another aid man—clearly identified as such—had already been critically wounded in a similar effort.
Undeterred, Pfc. Hawks crawled fifty yards through a storm of machine-gun bullets and exploding mortar fragments to reach a shallow ditch, where he administered first aid to the wounded medic. He then continued forward toward the two casualties. An enemy bullet pierced his helmet, knocking it from his head; moments later, thirteen rounds tore through the helmet as it lay inches from his body.
Despite the fire, Pfc. Hawks reached the wounded men. He treated the more seriously injured soldier and dragged him twenty-five yards to a small depression. He then returned through the same murderous fire to the second casualty. While treating this man, Pfc. Hawks was struck again—his right hip shattered by machine-gun fire and his left forearm splintered by another burst.
In excruciating pain, with his left arm nearly useless, Pfc. Hawks refused to abandon the wounded. He completed bandaging the second soldier and, by sheer force of will, dragged him to the same shallow cover. Finding it insufficient for three men, he crawled seventy-five yards farther under fire in an attempt to reach friendly lines, finally reaching the ditch where the wounded aid man lay.
His actions saved lives at the cost of devastating wounds, embodying the highest ideals of the combat medic and the United States Army.
Medal of Honor Citation
Pfc. Hawks, nevertheless, crawled 50 yards through a veritable hail of machinegun bullets and flying mortar fragments to a small ditch, administered first aid to his fellow aid man who had sought cover therein, and continued toward the 2 wounded men 50 yards distant. An enemy machinegun bullet penetrated his helmet, knocking it from his head, momentarily stunning him. Thirteen bullets passed through his helmet as it lay on the ground within 6 inches of his body.
Pfc. Hawks crawled to the casualties, administered first aid to the more seriously wounded man and dragged him to a covered position 25 yards distant. Despite continuous automatic fire from positions only 30 yards away and shells which exploded within 25 yards, Pfc. Hawks returned to the second man and administered first aid to him. As he raised himself to obtain bandages from his medical kit his right hip was shattered by a burst of machinegun fire and a second burst splintered his left forearm.
Displaying dogged determination and extreme self-control, Pfc. Hawks, despite severe pain and his dangling left arm, completed the task of bandaging the remaining casualty and with superhuman effort dragged him to the same depression to which he had brought the first man. Finding insufficient cover for 3 men at this point, Pfc. Hawks crawled 75 yards in an effort to regain his company, reaching the ditch in which his fellow aid man was lying.
