31 year old Army Staff Sergeant Omer Hawkins II of Cherry Fork died October 14, 2004 when a bomb exploded near his vehicle in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. He was assigned to the 44th Engineer Battalion based in Korea. Hawkin's mother Becky told Local 12, "He felt like he needed to be there to fight for his country because he loved his country, he was willing to give his life for it, that's what he done. "
Hawkins dream was to be like his dad, a marine who served 6 years in Vietnam. He was voted Most Likely to Succeed by his classmates when he graduated from Adams North High School in 1991.
Hawkins was laid to rest at the Locust Grove Cemetery in Peebles.
