Veterans can be found in every state in America. There are true American heroes living all around us, and W.O. Hawkins, also known as “Dub,” is one of these heroes living right here in Durant.

He is a veteran of World War II.

Hawkins was born Nov. 27, 1921, in Kingston. He was a star athlete, participating in football, basketball and track at Madill High School, where he graduated in 1941. Hawkins first saw his wife VaLondia Louise Hines in 1938 in the Madill town square when he was 16.

In the fall of 1941, Hawkins began his higher education at Oklahoma City University with a football scholarship. His job there quickly fell through and he came to Durant, where he attended Southeastern Oklahoma State University, which was then known as Southeastern State Teachers College, the School of the Rising Sun.

He was attending with an athletic scholarship. However, he would not get the chance to take his finals in his first semester in college.

Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, so Hawkins joined the United States Navy. His military service began in January 1942. He was enlisted in the 27th Seabees, a naval construction battalion that specialized in servicing all aircrafts, torpedo boats and submarines, as well as building structures, dry docks, bridges and airstrips.

After boot camp in Norfolk, Va., Hawkins shipped out from St. Pedro, Calif., and was headed for the Pacific. His battalion was to arrive in New Caledonia to prepare to invade Guadalcanal, located in the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific.

Hawkins and the 27th Seabees were to take the island of Tulagi.

“We managed to get to the beach,” Hawkins said. “The skies were full of anti-aircraft.” Kamikazes were in the air looking for targets and mines lined the beaches, causing the Seabees to lose equipment.

“We were lucky enough that we didn’t get hit,” Hawkins said.

Hawkins recalled being bombed every night for five months while on Tulagi. “One night I was blown out of my bunk,” he said.

He still has a piece of shrapnel that he found in his mattress.

Hawkins clearly remembers April 7 on Tulagi. “We shot down four planes that day,” he said.

Hawkins took pieces off a canopy of one of the Japanese planes and added it to his Navy-issued knife. He also has pieces off an amphibious tank that he added to his knife.

The leather sheath that carries his knife has the following handwritten message: “This knife cut our wedding cake Oct. 28, 1944. This knife went through the war with me.” The sheath also displays the many locations Hawkins traveled to during WWII.

Hawkins’ first tour ended in early October 1944 and he returned home for four months and married Hines. Many letters were sent back and forth during the war.

“I wrote anytime I had a chance to write anything,” Hawkins said.

He then was sent off for his second tour, preparing to invade Okinawa in order to cut off the Japanese supply lines. It was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific during WWII.

“We hit there April 1, 1945,” Hawkins said.

Hawkins and the 27th Seabees were in Okinawa until the end of the war. In November 1945, Hawkins was making his way back to Oklahoma. He was discharged in Norman on Nov. 16, 1945.

Hawkins attended the University of Oklahoma in the summer of 1946 and went back to Southeastern State Teachers College in the fall of 1946 and received his bachelor’s degree in 1949.

Hawkins participated in football and track while at Southeastern and still holds the record for the 100-yard dash.

Hawkins went on to Oklahoma City and taught auto body repair at Capital Hill High School for 25 years. He set up the first auto body repair program in the state. He then moved back to Durant to teach at Southeastern. He was also the project director of the Industry/School Exchange Program and was the vo-tech coordinator for 18 years. Hawkins retired in 1988.

W.O. and VaLondia recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary. They have three daughters, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

“Dub” Hawkins has many experiences from his time spent in the war. His stories from the past help tell why we, as Americans, have freedom today.

Freedom, that’s what we were fighting for, Hawkins said. “We put our lives on the line, not every day but every minute,” he said.