Elmer J Hawkins

In June 2023 I had an opportunity to sit down with my grandfather and listen to him share stories from his life. This was just days after celebrating his 100th birthday.

Elmer lived for 101 years, and his ashes were laid to rest in mid-June, just after what would have been his 102nd birthday. It felt like a good time to finally share some of his stories.

Elmer sits in front of the camera before the interview

I wasn't even sure where to start with questions so I just asked him if he could tell me about growing up. He ended up talking for nearly two hours, sharing memories of his childhood outside of Chicago, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, joining the U.S. Marines, and his time in the Pacific during World War II.

Elmer's son, Steve (my father) speaks at Elmer's memorial service

We held a service for him at a VFW hall that's actually named after him, and I got to share the 10 minute version of the interview with his friends and family there.

Elmer in the Pacific

The full interview is an hour and a half long and can be seen here: