Lt. Colonel Lewis Lee Hawkins (August 8, 1930 – June 2, 1973) was a United States military aide to Iran. He was killed by Vahid Afrakhteh, one of the founders of
Peykar. Afrakhteh was later caught and admitted to the killing. Notwithstanding, some sources attribute the assassination to the
People's Mujahedin of Iran
The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), also known as Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) or Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) (), is an Iranian dissident organization. It was an armed group until 2003, afterwards transitioning into a politica ...
.
Early life
Hawkins was born to Herman and Mary Hawkins in Chicago on August 8, 1930. He graduated from Plymouth High School and enlisted in South Carolina Presbyterian College on a basketball scholarship. He graduated in 1952 and joined the United States Army as a second Lieutenant. Hawkins later obtained a master's degree in Business Administration from
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
.
In the 1970s Hawkins became the Director of the Department of Finance at U.S. Army Finance School at Indiana. In 1972 Hawkins was assigned to be the deputy chief
[ in the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group to the Imperial Iranian Armed Forces in Iran. He lived with his wife and children in the Abbasabad district.
]
Assassination
On June 2, 1973, Hawkins was walking to the street corner to be picked up by his driver when two terrorists riding on a motorcycle shot him at point blank range, killing him instantly. Hawkins' wife rushed outside to see his body in a pool of blood. He was 42 years old at the time. The terrorists immediately fled the scene and were not captured.
According to an American military advisor, Hawkins was killed "by an Iranian terrorist". The assassination seemed to have been motivated by political considerations. Although there were two witnesses, the assassins were wearing motorcycle helmets and could not be identified. Some GOI officials believed the group responsible to be left-wing and Iraq-supported, while others suspected Mujahedin-e-Khalq.[
On May 11, 1976, '']The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' reported that in January of that year, "nine terrorists convicted of murdering the three American colonels… were executed." The leader of the group, Vahid Afrakhteh, one of the founders of Peykar (a Marxist group that broke off from Mujahedin-e-Khalq), stated that he personally killed Col. Lewis Lee Hawkins in Tehran in 1973.
See also
* Paul R. Shaffer
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Lewis Lee
1930 births
1973 deaths
People murdered in 1973
American expatriates in Iran
American military personnel killed in action
Assassinated American people
Deaths by firearm in Iran
People murdered in Iran
Syracuse University alumni
United States Army officers