>Decorated WWII veteran from Glen Rock inducted into Wall of Fame
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2012
BY RICHARD DE SANTA
STAFF WRITER
GLEN ROCK GAZETTE
The late Thomas Lawson Hawkins, a Glen Rock native and decorated member of the famed World War II Tuskegee Airmen, has been selected for induction in the Ridgewood High School (RHS) Distinguished Alumni Wall of Fame. Flight Officer Hawkins was killed in the line of duty in Italy on March 7, 1945.
Glen Rock Borough Historian Sue Tryforos nominated Hawkins for the honor last year, after extensively researching his service with the famed squadron of African-American fliers for an article that appeared in the Glen Rock Gazette in January 2011. Tryforos was notified of his selection by the RHS administration in January.
Born in 1923 in Springfield, Mass., Hawkins moved to Glen Rock with parents William and Rebecca as a young child. The family resided in homes on Hamilton Avenue and Broad Street before settling on Dean Street by 1941.