Arkansas was born in Paris, Arkansas on 3 August 1939 and died
in Little Rock on 5 November 2019. Enlisting in the United
States Navy at the age of 17 in September 1956, he progressed
through the ranks and attained his final rank of Chief Hospital
Corpsman (Surface Force). Chief Hanks served on active duty in
the Navy from 1956-1970, in the Navy Reserve from 1970-1981, and
in the Fleet Reserve from 1981-1999. Chief Hanks was a graduate
of Catholic High School, Arkansas Baptist College, and attended
Ouachita Baptist University (graduate level studies). He was a
graduate of the U.S. Navy Hospital Corps School and the Navy
Advanced Hospital Corps School, and completed additional studies
at San Diego State University, the Naval Medical School (now the
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences) and a
myriad of professional military courses of instruction at
various locations.
While in the active component of the Navy, Chief Hanks had
numerous shore duty asslgnments- San Diego CA, Yokosuka Japan,
numerous duty sites in the interior of Vietnam and southeast
Asia, Bethesda MD, Washington DC, Charleston SC, and Long Beach
CA. His minority cruise was as a Hospital Corpsman aboard the
USS Oriskany 1959-1960, with subsequent shipboard service as
either a Medical Department Representative or Senior Medical
Department Representative aboard the USS Colonial, the USS
Outagamie County, and the USS Hollister (a destroyer). Prior to
his initial tour of duty in Vietnam, Chief Hanks was
instrumental in establishing the US Coast Guard clinics/
dispensaries in Sitka AK and other sites in the Alaskan Maritime
Frontier Zone. In 1966, while in Vietnam, he was detailed to the
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) where he
served as a field Medical Service Officer. Some of his temporary
shore duty assignments included Bangkok, Beirut, and the
Bahamas. Chief Hanks served three tours of duty in Vietnam during the
Vietnam Conflict, the first was during the Vietnam Advisory
Campaign, the second during the Vietnamese Counteroffensive of
1966, and the third was shipboard while aboard the USS Hollister
(1969). After his active duty Navy service, Chief Hanks was one of the
first civil service employees hired under the Vietnam Veterans
Readjustment hiring authority in May 1970 by the US Veterans
Administration (US Department of Veterans Affairs). He would
serve his fellow veterans as a federal employee in the Pathology
and Laboratory Medicine Service at VA Medical Center Little Rock
and as a Legislative Coordinator with the American Federation of
Government Employees (AFGE) until retiring in December 1995.
Chief Hanks retired from the United States Government with 39
years Federal Service.
Chief Hanks was preceded in death by his wife of over 35 years,
Patricia R. Brown (Hanks). He is survived by his son James
Briscoe Hanks. Chief Hanks was a Roman Catholic, a Member of The
Society of The Cincinnati (hereditary descendant of Major Joseph
Bowman), and a lifetime member of both the Disabled American
Veterans and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. In retirement, he had
numerous peer-reviewed articles published concerning genealogy,
genomic genealogy and history. Chief Hanks was a 100% Service-
Connected Disabled Veteran and had been awarded Navy-Marine
Corps Combat Related Special Compensation just prior to his
death. Five traits can sum up Chief Hospital Corpsman (Surface Force)
William Howard Hanks USNR (Ret.)- Duty, Honor, Courage,
Commitment, but most of all Love.
Donations can be made to the Navy & Marine Corps
Relief Society, the Disabled American Veterans, the Veterans of
Foreign Wars, the American Red Cross, the American Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or the Pulaski County
Humane Society. Per his desire, Chief Hanks' remains will be
cremated with memorial and graveside services to be held at a
future date.
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