I just heard that Vincent Hawkins, former HERO and DMSI employee, passed away yesterday. Born in August 1955 he was 66 years old.
He came to work for Trevor Dupuy’s HERO/DMSI around 1986 and was there when I arrived. Always outgoing and welcoming, he had a master’s degree in history, was fluent in German and led the German research team for the Ardennes Campaign Simulation Data Base (ACSDB). He was the co-author of one chapter in Trevor Dupuy’s Understanding Defeat.
He continued at DMSI until around 1991, when it closed down. He was the editor for weekly defense newsletter they were doing, which I thought was a worthwhile effort. He then did some historical research for George Kuhn’s casualty estimation efforts at LMI.
Always outgoing and humorous, Vince was a good friend at DMSI. His office was always one of my stops when I took a break for coffee.
Sorry to hear that. He was a good friend and housemate for many years, but I lost track of him after I left TDI.
“Born in August 1995 he was 66 years old.”
That is not correct.
Corrected. Thanks.
Vince was a very good friend to me. A man of very strong opinions, not all of which I ever agreed with, he was still a loyal and humorous companion on quite a number of adventures. We spent a few years reenacting together (Rev War) and much longer being good friends, even after I had long moved out of state. He is and will be both missed and well remembered.
Would not of been Vince without a strongly felt veiw point.
I only just became aware this week of the sad news that Vince had passed away in February. News of his death seems to have only recently begun to trickle out to many that knew him.
I met Vince at a local miniature wargame show in 1993 where I was playing in an American Rev War game. He told me about the American Revolution Round Table of DC (ARRT of DC), which I joined, and where I would see Vince for many years as a regular member. He joined the Rev War reenacting group, the First Virginia Regiment, that I was also a member of, and while he was active with that group, we spent many weekends together at events. I often ran into him at Historical Miniature Gaming Society (HMGS) events, and even traveled up to Pennsylvania with him for their Cold Wars convention years ago. We spoke over the phone now and again over the past few years, but I hadn’t seen him in person since before the pandemic.
We shared a love of military history, particularly the 18th century, and of German language and culture. He was definitely a unique individual, and while he could be a bit overwhelming in his opinions, his heart was always in a good place. He will be missed.