Special honor for Hays

Red Oak veteran Alvin D. Hays is receiving a special honor.
The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors at its regular meeting, signed a proclamation naming May 23, 2025 as Alvin D. Hays Day. Tom Honeyman was present to speak about Hays to the supervisors. Honeyman said Hays is a national treasure in Montgomery County, being among the select few that were the forbearers of the Navy Seals.
“Scouts and Raiders were the Navy’s first special warfare commandos formed in 1942. These highly trained officers and enlisted boat crews conducted pre-assault recons on beaches and hostile islands. They mapped uncharted lagoons and blue holes in reefs so the assault force could access and invade the island by sea. After their secret night missions, they directed assault troops on the day of the assault. They served in North African, Italian, and European theaters, and also largely in the Pacific Island Campaign, and also in guerrilla operations in China. Over 1,200 men were trained from 1942 to the war’s end in September, 1945. Montgomery County citizen Alvin D. Hayes was one of these men,” Honeyman said.
Hays was a graduate from Strand High School, which at the time was located south of Malvern. Hays was to graduate from the school in May of 1944. However, Hays had already enlisted in 1943 in the United States Navy.
“His father, an Army veteran, Brice, said he and Al’s mom would sign the consent so Al could enlist in the military on one condition, that he would not join the Army. After graduation, Hays was sent to Great Lakes, Ill. with a V-6 enlistment, which carries more education, and a six-month enlistment extension. After six weeks of training at Naval Service Training Command Chicago, Hays was selected as one of 24 out of 240 graduates to be sent to Little Creek, Va., for further training. The training would later be recognized as the Navy Scouts and Raiders. Their motto was, “We led the way.” As has been said, Scouts and Raiders were the grandfather of the present-day United States SEALs,” commented Honeyman.
Hays’ stature and the fact that he was a farm boy was a big part of that selection, Honeyman said.
“They wanted men less than 130 pounds and no taller than five foot eight, a similar size to the Japanese soldier. In the earlier European campaign, it was a joint Army-Navy venture. They were not called Scouts and Raiders. They were big, burly men in North Africa, Italy, and Europe. So this was a complete switch for the Scouts and Raiders that went into the South Pacific. They were then sent near Fort Pierce, Fla., to an island about one mile off the coast, presently north of Palm Beach. They trained 20 hours a day. They had strenuous physical training, first aid training, classroom work to memorize silhouettes of planes, ships, weather, clouds. And their ability to remember details was a large part of their job. There would be no paper or cell phones to record the details of their missions, only their memory,” advised Honeyman.
After they finished their hurried training, there was no ceremony or graduation, just another train ride to Providence, Rhode Island, where they were introduced to their brand new ship, the USS Dauphine, APA-97. The Dauphine was an amphibious attack transport, made to transport troops and equipment to hostile shores. And they carried their own landing craft, 33 Higgins boats. Hays then headed for the Pacific theater via the Panama Canal, then a temporary stop at Pearl Harbor, on to New Guinea and the Marshall Islands. From there, they went to Batangas, southeast of Vietnam.
“The Higgins boats would take them to within five or six miles of the designated enemy island. Then the scouts would land their rubber raft on the island and scout details of the land and the lagoon. Hays would rise to seven major invasions in the Philippines, from Peleliu, Kwajalein, to Okinawa, and the Luzon and Philippine campaigns. Following the Okinawa invasions, the next expected campaign was to invade Japan. His boat crew was always the first action assault wave. Scouts and Raiders were ordered to measure and report their findings back on their mother ship from memory,” Honeyman explained. “These were top-secret missions, and the scouts’ findings were classified as top-secret for years after the war. My father, W. Lee Honeyman, and Hays were in the same water during the war, doing different things, and could never speak of their missions after the war. President Truman ended the war by dropping the atomic bomb on Japan in September of 45.”
Honeyman relayed a humorous story that Hays had shared while on one of his missions. 
“One night he was sneaking around on the island in the weeds, and he felt this hand on his shoulder, and he said he about had a heart attack. It turned out there were people on the island that were sympathetic to the Allies. This happened to be a radio man, a native, that spoke back and forth to the Navy and gave them heads up on troop movements. This guy had seen Al, and he reached up and put his hand on him. He also gave Hays a ring that Hays has to this day,” Honeyman said.
General Douglas MacArthur gave the order for the Scouts and Raiders to change into combat gear and man their boats, then lower and secure all Japanese flags in Tokyo Bay. Each scout was allowed to keep one flag for themselves, and Hays still has his. After the surrender, as a combat serviceman, Hays was sent home. He left the military May 23, 1946, as part of the V-6 plan, six months after the war’s end. Al came back to Mills County and at the ripe old age of 19, and worked for his dad Brice on the farm south of Malvern with his brother Bill. Honeyman added Hays actually considered rejoining the Navy because it seemed like civilian life was a little slow, until he met the love of his life, his wife Rusty, and the rest is history.
“They moved near Climax in West Township, bought a farm, raised four kids, became a leader in this community, and is still here today. In my mind and perception, Al Hays is truly an American hero. It is fitting and proper for this elected board, representing the citizens of Montgomery County, to recognize the unselfish service that Hays has given all through his life to his community and to his nation. Al’s birthday is May 23, and he will be 99 this year,” stated Honeyman.
The islands in the area were unknown to the Navy, and most of them had a coral reef around them. Hays, who was present at the meeting, described one beach that was more than it appeared.
“When they flew over the island and took thousands of pictures, well, it proved that the pictures didn’t do it all. It showed a white sand beach all around the island. When we scouted that island, it was not white sand. It was broken coral about eight to ten inches thick, and mighty sharp. If you stepped off in it, you would go up over your boot tops. And if we would unload a jeep, that was as far as you got: unloaded. It just went down in that white coral. That was one big mistake that we showed,” Hays commented.
Hays also stated that when they came back aboard the ship every night or every morning, they were spoken to separately.
“They would put us in just a little corner, and they debriefed every one of us individually for one hour. Every night when we left that ship, there were 1,500 sailors on that ship, and I don’t think there were even 50 of those 1,500 that knew we left that every night. Before we left that ship, they took all of our dog tags. Any identification at all was removed from us. They don’t expect to find you. If the Japanese had gotten a hold of us, they told us we were better off if they kill you than if they punish you,” explained Hays.
In 1942, Hays said they were known as Frogs. It was U.S. President and Navy veteran John F. Kennedy that changed their name to SEALs. In 2016, the United States Senate recognized that Hays’ organization was the forefather of the Navy SEALs, and Hays was one of 10 that received their trident, the official badge of the Navy SEALs.
One other story Hays shared was from his training. Hays said his instructor told him from 10 a.m. to noon on Sundays, they had the time off which could be used for sleep, writing letters, or going to church. Hays said the instructor told them all that based on where they were going, they needed all the help they could get.
Hays’ son Les said they weren’t aware of Hays’ efforts in world War II, as the documents of the missions were not declassified until recently. Even now, a few of the documents remain classified. Hays said his parents passed away before he could tell them of his involvement, while Hays’ wife, Rusty, was told of Hays’ efforts by someone during a reunion.
The proclamation stated, in part, that as Alvin D. Hays returned home and devoted his life to farming in Montgomery County, contributing selflessly through public service, volunteerism, mentorship, and civic leadership, and whereas Alvin D. Hays has become a respected and beloved member of the community, embodying the values of honor, patriotism, and lifelong service, and inspiring generations through his remarkable legacy, and whereas as Alvin D. Hays celebrates his 99th birthday on May 23, it is fitting and proper to recognize his extraordinary life, distinguished military record, and lasting impact on our county, and that the board of supervisors proclaim May 23, 2025 as Alvin D. Hays Day in Montgomery County and they urge all citizens to join in recognizing and honoring the life and service of Alvin D. Hays, a true American hero. The Red Oak City Council also gave an honor and proclamation of May 23 as Alvin D. Hays Day at its May 19 meeting.