Remembering My Friend Jimmy Hooks on Veterans Day

Thinking about my good friend Jimmy Hooks on this Veterans Day.  My fellow
Union Brother was known as just plain Hooks by friends and coworkers
at Yale New Haven Hospital. 

“Hey Hooks what’s going on.” I’m thinking about taking the grill cook job over in the New Haven cafeteria.

“Why, what’s wrong with the Main Kitchen.” I don’t know, I thought I try something different.

Jimmy Hooks was a Vietnam Veteran. When he returned home to New Haven Connecticut his arms were scarred, an injury he suffered serving in Vietnam. He didn’t talk much about what happened, but I do remember us having a few drinks in the bar across the street from the hospital.

“Hooks tell us what happened.”

It had something to do with him shooting those big guns. There was a misfire or malfunction and he suffered severe burns on his arms. He said he was one of The lucky ones. (Wow lucky ones) He spent eight months in a military hospital recovering.

A kind and gentle soul, you really couldn’t help but love this guy. I remember when my son was born. Hooks asked me how much did he weigh, “8 lbs. 5 oz,” okay I’m playing that number. Back in the 70s there was no such thing as a state lottery, so you played your favorite number with your friendly neighborhood bookie, and we had a few of them that worked right there in a hospital.

And guess what, the number came out and he won about $500. A nice piece of change in the 1970s. What did he try to do, give me the money.

“Come on Hooks you played the number it’s your money.” I want you to have it.

We argued for a little while and finally he just stuck 100 bucks in my shirt pocket, buy the baby something. The kind of guy that would give you the shirt off his back if you were in need of shirt.

An activist concerned about the low wages and the injustices on the job. He got involved in organizing the union. (New York Local 1199 RWDSU as it was known at the time) A Vietnam Veteran who was against the war, and spoke out at a prayer vigil. I found a Xerox copy of an article written back in 1973 about the vigil, quite interesting if you you can manage to read it. It will give you a good idea of who Hooks was.

Unfortunately this story has a sad ending. Jimmy Hooks was found unconscious on the floor in his apartment and died a week later in the hospital, The same hospital he work for and helped organize.

Like so many Veterans he was suffering from drug addiction and health problems, specifically chronic high blood pressure. As much as family and friends try to caution him, he just didn’t seem to pay attention.

There was some controversy surrounding his death. Did he OD, was it really drug addiction, a stroke or a combination of all. I suspect the latter. Many of us felt sort of a collective guilt. Could we have done more, why couldn’t we see what was going on. It was hard to accept that we lost this good concerned decent Human Being.

On this Veterans Day, I just wanted to get his name out there. If his friends didn’t remember, he would be just another forgotten Working Class Hero added to a long list.

Raymond D Milici