Dave Austin

Awhile back David Norris wrote this about my dad, Hammerin' Hank Austin...and I thought it was appropriate to share this being Memorial Day weekend:

"My friend, Dave Austin, sometime back posted on Facebook something about his father, Henry Austin, a US Navy Chaplain that served in WWII with the US Marines, and in particular, during the Battle of Iwo Jima. The post prompted me to comment and ask Dave if his dad was “Hammering Hank” Austin, the US Navy Chaplain that had a tendency to go in with the first wave and be closest to the fighting and without a weapon. He is and was, and here’s how I learned of “Hammerin’ Hank” Austin.

Henry Aaron of baseball’s Atlanta Braves, aka Hammerin’ Hank had already broken Babe Ruth’s single season home run record back in 1974. In 1976 I was a senior at Texas A&M University, a member of its Corps of Cadets, and a Naval ROTC student, and scheduled for commissioning as a 2nd Lieutenant into the USMC upon graduation. One of my mentors there was USMC General Ormond R. Simpson (ret.) who served as the University’s head of Military Sciences. As such we cadets and me in particular, General Simpson would visit our Naval Science classes and also invite us individually to his office a couple times per year.

I remember that Hank Aaron was THE player in baseball, was setting a new record every time he hit a home run, and was the talk of all sports fans, including cadets at Texas A&M. We were talking about Hank Aaron’s performance in Naval Science class one day soon thereafter and we were graced with General Simpson’s presence in our classroom. He let us continue on for a while and then asked us if we knew the story of the real “Hammerin Hank”.

He then told us the story of US Navy Chaplain Henry “Hammerin’ Hank” Austin and his exploits as a non-combatant on the front lines of battles in the Pacific while assigned to the Marines, sneaked into first wave landing craft so he could go in with the first wave of Marines, encouraging the Marines to move forward in the presence of withering fire and often times leading charges, and all without a weapon.

While Hank Aaron’s record is noteworthy, it pales in comparison to the selfless devotion, sacrifice, and leadership example of a simple Navy Chaplain, who I am sure by his actions, saved countless lives and ministered to each Marine’s needs in combat.

I never met Hammerin’ Hank Austin however I am grateful to have connected the dots from a story I first heard over 40 years ago.

SEMPER FIDELIS!"

David Norris
1st Lieutenant
USMC
1976 - 1981

why do i keep forgetting I have this page? i guess my profile page is the only place my phone directs me to...technology challenged?

Where are you needed most?

What is it that you are truly driven to do in this life and what do you love most… are you willing to take on machine gun fire to achieve that? Thankfully, and because of our military who serve this great nation, you probably won’t ever have to take on the bullets of military machine gun fire to fulfill your passion and purpose.

Join me today for my FB Live broadcast where I discuss this in further depth and read the entire article here below:

"Where I Was Needed Most..." - Extreme Focus It was years ago as young boy that I heard my brother asked our father, “Why did you do it, Dad?” He was a Navy Chaplain and a war hero who led the charge at Iwo Jima without a weapon. He only had a Bible, communion sacraments, and faith with him to provide encouragement to the Marines he...Keep...

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