During the weekend of Oct. 5-7, the family of Rear Admiral Richard E. Hawes, along with friends and citizens of Thomson, have an opportunity to visit the naval vessel named in his honor.
At this time, the USS Hawes will be docked in port in Savannah. A letter from the ship's captain CDR C.B. Marks, III to several family members has issued an invitation to family, friends and any other interested members of the community to travel to Savannah and enjoy a tour of the ship.
Having been in service since the early 1980s, the USS Hawes and its crew have proudly served our country. Family members encourage the citizens of Thomson to take this opportunity to share in the pride of the career and the service of Admiral Hawes to Thomson, to the Navy and to the United States.
A portion of the letter from Captain Marks is reprinted below to recap some of the duty in which the USS Hawes has participated in recent months: "You would be proud of HAWES on her recent deployment to the Middle East. HAWES served in every part of the theatre, from the Red Sea to the Horn of Africa, to the Central Arabian Gulf to the Northern Arabian Gulf in Iraqi territorial waters. The sailors aboard HAWES lived up to her namesake, working hard, succeeding at extremely challenging missions and doing it all with a sense of humor."
For further information concerning the ship's tour schedule for that weekend, please call 757-348-2677.
