Rank: Sergeant
Unit: H Company, 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
MOS: 11E – Armor Crewman
Awards: Bronze Star Medal with Valor Device, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Unit awards: Valorous Unit Award, Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm device
Enlisted by: Regular
Date of birth: 21-Dec-1931
Hometown: Pensacola, Florida
Marital status: Married to Carolyn E. G. Hawkins, one son, two daughters
Campaign: Vietnam Conflict
Start of tour: 20-Jun-1967
Incident date: 11-Jun-1968
Date of casualty: 11-Jun-1968
Age at death: 36
Cause of death: Non-hostile, died of other causes.
Location of fatality: Phuoc Tuy, South Vietnam
Place of interment: Barrancas National Cemetery, Pensacola, Florida, USA
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BRONZE STAR MEDAL
WITH VALOR DEVICE
SERGEANT KENNETH JEROME HAWKINS
28 FEBRUARY 1968
H COMPANY, 2nd SQUADRON
11TH ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMENT
Sergeant Hawkins distinguished himself by valorous actions on 28 February 1968, while serving as a Tank Commander with Company H, 2d Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, on a combat mission in the Republic of Vietnam. Despite intense hostile fire, Sergeant Hawkins maneuvered his tank against an antitank position containing seven North Vietnamese Army soldiers and destroyed it without his crew or vehicle receiving any damage. Sergeant Hawkins’ personal bravery and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
Headquarters, 9th Infantry Division General Orders No. 4298 (6 June 1968)