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Mary Louise Hawkins (May 24, 1921- July 9, 2007) was an Air Evacuation Flight Nurse who earned the Distinguished Flying Cross during WWII. She was born in Denver, Colorado. On Sept. 24, 1944, 1stLt. Mary Louise Hawkins was evacuating 24 patients from fighting at Palau to Guadalcanal when the C-47 she was aboard ran low on fuel and was forced to crash land on Bellona Island. During the landing, a propeller tore through the fuselage and severed the trachea of a patient. Hawkins made a suction tube from several items including the inflation tube from a "Mae West,” life jacket and kept the man's throat clear of blood until help arrived 19 hours later. All her patients survived. For her actions, Hawkins received the Distinguished Flying Cross. Mary Louise Hawkins married Bill Lambert in 1960. She continued working as a nurse, both in the Middle East and the Unites States. She died on July 9, 2007.