Arm 2/C Lawrence Larry Charles Hawn 3008554 US Navy.

Arm 2/C Lawrence Larry Charles Hawn 3008554 US Navy. He was born on February 12, 1920, in Grundy, Iowa, He was the son of Earl Elton Hawn and ROSELLA M KELLER Hawn. He had ten brothers and three sisters. At the time he joined the US Navy he was 5 foot 9 inches tall weighed 154 pounds had brown hair and blue Eyes. He served in the US Navy in World War Two. He joined the USS Indiana on November 17, 1944. He served as an radioman / gunner under 4 different Kingfisher pilots during his time on the USS Indiana, 2 of the pilots he served with were Killed in action on flights he was not on.

During the morning of August 7, 1945 the USS Indiana launched two seaplanes for an authorized routine patrol flight. In one of these planes was ARM 3C Robert B. Watson as radioman with LTJG Everett R Backman USNR the pilot. The day was beautifully clear with a calm sea and a very slight breeze. A normal launching was made and  ARM 3C Watson and LTJG Backman plane circled the ship and headed toward its assigned sector. The Ship spoke to LTJG Backman the planes pilot on the radio and he answered there was no intimation of anything amiss. In the meantime, the pilot of the 2^nd plane was piloted by Ensign Arthur D. Thomas USNR  and the radioman was Arm 2/C Larry Hawn. The 2^nd plane was trying to catch up with the plane piloted by LTJG Backman. While Ensign Thomas was still approximately 300 yards behind LTJG Backmans plane. At this point Thomas saw Backmans plane suddenly slip off to the left and spin down and structed the water 600 feet below with a terrific crash. The crash occurred at 0802 AM local time. By the time Ensign Thomas could do a half circle and land a maneuver taking approximately one minute there was no sign of the plane or its two occupants except for a small amount of floating debris and oil through which Ensign Thomas searched carefully. A destroyer was directed to the scene of the crash and joined in the search. The destroyer reported finding several small pieces of wreckage in a large oil spot. Ensign Thomas plane was still at the scene of the crash when the destroyer appeared. According to the Captain of the USS Indiana “Due to the foregoing circumstances I was forced to conclude that your son was definitely dead even though his body was not recovered.”

He died on August 27, 1994, in Jackson, Louisiana, at the age of 74.