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The 16to 20-foot swells, unusual for the typically calm Persian Gulf waters, continued to batter the USS Paul F. Foster warship. Navy Seaman Jason Hawes was sitting below the starboard deck when he heard the rescue call. A helicopter out for a routine exercise had crashed about 14 nautical miles from the ship. The chopper had gone under immediately. A Navy rescue swimmer, Hawes and his crew jumped into a rigid hull inflatable boat, known as a rhib, and headed to the crash site. “Fortunately, a sonar radar panel on the front end of the helicopter had broken off during the crash, so the four-man crew had something to hang onto until help could arrive,” Hawes said.
Near the crash site, Hawes dove off the rhib and headed toward the men amidst the dangerous swells. Upon reaching them, he could see the two pilots had sustained serious injuries and a third crewman was complaining of back pain. Letting those three men grab onto him, Hawes began the arduous swim back to the rescue boat. They were then able to pull the fourth crewman in by a rope. For the rescue crew, their work was far from done, however. As they turned back toward the ship, the intensity of the waves increased. Attempts to connect to the ship failed repeatedly as the rescue boat banged against the side of the Paul Foster.
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“The waves would push us up 20 feet and then we’d go down 16 feet into the swell all within two seconds. We couldn’t hold the rhib’s hook long enough to connect it to the ship,” he said. “That part was more painful than the rescue itself. Finally, the captain ordered us to remain in place as he brought the ship back around into a position that better blocked the wave action.”
While they waited for the ship to swing back toward them, however, a 20-foot rogue wave “took us to the crest of it and we felt like we were going to capsize. Fortunately, the guy driving the boat was able to keep us upright. It was definitely an adrenaline-filled moment.” Later that day, after the rescued crew was being taken care of at the ship’s hospital, Hawes was presented the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for his “selfless devotion to duty.”
From Hawes’ perspective, however, he was just doing his job. A former high school football and Greco Roman state wrestling champion, Hawes said he lives for those moments. “Working in those situations makes everything come alive for me and easier to think through solutions. It feels like second nature to me,” he said. “When I’m out there doing stuff like that, I feel so free.” Since his retirement from the Navy after eight years of service, the Lynchburg, Virginia, family man continued to search for more purposeful moments. And he found them.
Hawes worked with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for five years as a rescue and safety expert on offshore oil and gas rigs throughout the Midwest and the South. He started a disaster recovery service to help places hit hard by hurricanes including Michael (Florida panhandle), Irma (Cape Verde, Africa) and Rita (Southeast Texas/ Southwest Louisiana). A year ago, he became a firefighter for the Billings Retardant Air Tanker Base facility. Hawes said most of the crews there are former veterans who coordinate fire management and wildland fire suppression, fuels and natural resources management. He still swims, though.
“I know some of the lifeguards really freak out when they see me show up at the pool with my Navy fins and snorkel,” he said laughing. He’ll swim several thousand meters underwater in 50-meter increments. Athleticism runs in his growing family. Hawes’ children, Mellissa, 10, Gabby, 9 and Olivia, 3½, are involved in wrestling, running and swimming. Hawes and his wife, Angel, are expecting a little boy in October.
Never one to speculate on what additional achievements or accolades await him or his family, Hawes remains content to live in the present. “The journey you are in now is what’s important,” he said. “Whether it’s with your military buddies or your family, my goal is to be happy where I am, live through the hard times and struggles and come out on the other side. That’s what creates a stronger bond.”
Stories of Honor is a series, sponsored by AARP, which salutes those who have served and still serve by showcasing 10 veterans across Montana. Stories of Honor are published between Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
For more information, please visit aarp.org/mtvets.
