Christmas in July: A WWII Hero Takes Center Stage at the Houston VA
By Maureen Dyman, Communications Director
The Houston VA got a jump on the holidays today, trading the brutal summer heat for candy canes and carols at a special Christmas in July celebration.
Volunteers from the American Legion Auxiliary, along with another group of student and adult volunteers, decked the halls with a full Christmas tree, wrapped presents, and handed out refreshments, while a group from Stay Tuned for Vets provided some fabulous music.
Front and center for the festivities was WWII Army Veteran Hawk McGinnis, who turns 99 next month and hasn’t lost a step when it comes to a good party.
“I love music and I’m always up for a party,” Hawk said. A lifelong music lover, he counts Frank Sinatra among his favorites...and he’s not just a fan from a distance. Hawk once met the legendary singer face to face, “I was star struck and stood there with my mouth open,” he recalled with a grin.
Born in 1927 on a farm in Indiana, Hawk joined the Army in 1944 and served as a sniper during World War II. It was during the war he earned the nickname that stuck with him for life. Decades later, the memories of combat remain vivid, particularly the foxholes he dug to survive.
“If I dug a good enough hole, I was safe and could get the job done,” he said.
Hawk returned home in 1947 and began his post-war life as a singer. His career took several turns from there…he went on to work as a magazine editor before ultimately becoming a Methodist minister.
Hawk’s story didn’t follow a traditional path. On his 57th birthday, in 1983, he set out on foot to walk through all 50 states. He completed that trek in 1987 and then set his sights even higher, starting in Ireland in 1992, he spent two decades walking through 70 countries, finally returning home to Houston in 2012 to complete a journey that began, in his words, with a young boy’s dreams of the world beyond his own backyard.
Today, those decades of adventure, service and stories are exactly what make Hawk a fixture at the Houston VA, where staff, volunteers and fellow Veterans know they are always in for a good tale when Hawk’s in the room.
This Christmas in July at the Houston VA, one of the best gifts may have been having Hawk there.
Special thanks to our amazing student volunteers, ALA volunteers, and our friends at Stay Tuned for Vets for their support of our Veterans and this event.