COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — It took the government almost seventy years to honor Hockabout for his work on Operation Wigwam; the secret test that involved his Navy tugboat crew.
- He served in Alaska, Japan, Hawaii, the Philippines, Hong Kong: "Then we escorted some mine sweepers through the Panama Canal."
- After the service, Hockabout joined the National Association of Atomic Veterans and advocated for members whose health suffered and whose work went unacknowledged until December of last year when a medal arrived in the mail.
- He continues to drive an Uber because the former trucking executive likes to stay busy.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
What conversations do you have with your Uber driver?
"I listen to a lot of people's problems. I give no advice unless I'm asked," said Dennis Hockabout.
I'm neighborhood reporter Katrina Markel in Council Bluffs and I'm willing to bet you've never had a driver like Dennis Hockabout.
Cruising through these CB neighborhoods there are a million things we could chat about. But here's the thing: with Dennis the small talk isn't that small.
"But it was a hydrogen bomb and when it went off it looked like the whole world exploded,” he said.
88-year-old Dennis Hockabout is a Navy veteran of the atomic age. He served on a tugboat in the 1950s and saw a world far beyond his tiny, hometown of Bartlett, Iowa.
"Joined while I was still in high school and left three days after graduation," he said.
Alaska, Japan, Hawaii, the Philippines, Hong Kong: "Then we escorted some mine sweepers through the Panama Canal."
Then there was the time in San Diego when his tugboat had a delicate assignment: take the hydrogen bomb into the middle of the Pacific.
"'Cause we was sworn to 30 years of secrecy."
After the service he joined the National Association of Atomic Veterans and advocated for members whose health suffered and whose work went unacknowledged until December of last year when a medal arrived in the mail.
Seeing her dad finally get the recognition he earned was special for his daughter, Bonnie: "He's a just a fantastic person all the way around. I'm very proud to be his daughter. Very, Very proud."
Family friend Gail Hunter says the spirit of service is still strong: “He’s a quiet hero. He doesn’t brag about service days.”
Widowed 12 years ago, Dennis works because he likes it; years after he could have retired from a successful career in the trucking industry.
"People just don't realize how nice we've got it here," Hockabout said.
Sharing more than just a ride with his neighbors.
"I like to meet people and I like to listen to their stories also.”
In Council Bluffs, in Dennis Hockabout's Uber, I'm your Southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter, Katrina Markel.
