Pseudonym: Haskins, John
Jack Hawkins was involved in training Cuban exiles in Guatemala prior to the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in April of 1961. Both Hawkins and Jake Esterline had significant doubts over the operation prior to its launch.
According to a CIA memo in February, 1970, Howard Hunt mentioned Haskins in his manuscript Give Us This Day.
According to John Prados, in his book Safe for Democracy: The Secret Wars of the CIA (2006), "Hawkins, had participated in World War II amphibious landings and had been guerrilla commander against the Japanese in the Philippines."
April 1961: "Esterline...holds (Charles) Cabell principally responsible for the failure of the Bay of PIgs operation...: '(Cabell)...was the guy, he was the Air Force general that the people would have listened to and...he was the equivocator that the let the thing get away from him that night...I'll never forget him coming in with a cigar, and he said, "Well, we are going to have to rationalize a little bit here."...Hawkins and I looked at each other, and I said, "General, are you saying that we are not going to get that airstrike," and he said "Yes." Hawkins said, "Well, we are lost. We are going to lose every ship." Cabell said, "Colonel," he said, "I don't know that that's right, I don't think I agree with that." That's when I wrote out a resignation to the Agency. That's before the first shot had ever been fired.'" Esterline further states: "We (Hawkins and Esterline) were the only ones who really knew, at that point, the total details of the operation and knew what the risks were in detail and what further diminishment of capacity would be. When the equity became so great, I don't think just because a person was GS-18, or because he had four stars on his shoulder that he should have gone himself...He should have at least had one of the principal lieutenants charged with the operation -- that would have been Hawkins or myself..." ...In a very emotional phone conversation with William Pawley on 21 April 1961, Jake stated that he had resigned 'last Sunday (16 April)" and that "I have quit the Agency." Esterline also indicated that the resignation hadn't been accepted because he was being sent to Florida for R&R. Dave Phillips has a more colorful description of the scene with Jake sitting at "a typewriter, a bottle of whisky at his elbow, and wrote out his resignation several times. Bill tore them up as soon as they were typed." "Esterline also blames Bissell...(continually pleading) that we had to destroy all those planes on the ground."
02/16/70: Memo from Walter Pforsheimer, Curator, Historical Intelligence Collection to Director of Security: Chapter IV...Hamilton (Howard Hunt) states that a Marine Colonel names Haskins had been placed in charge of the Project's paramilitary operations, seconded from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He garnered Hamilton's ill-will by refusing to accede to the Frente's request that they be permitted to visit the training site in Guatemala..."
https://documents3.theblackvault.com/documents/jfkfiles/jfk2022/104-10105-10290%5bc06932214%5d.pdf
11/02/73: Memo from Erich W. Isenstead, Chief, Cover & Commercial Staff to Acting General Counsel: Subject: Mr. E. Howard Hunt - Alias Birth Documentation: ..."3. Later in the afternoon of 30 October 1973 Mr. Franklin came to my office with a number of documents. They consisted of a form memorandum signed by me which was addressed to Mr. Hunt dated 29 June 1970 (Tab B), a list of names numbering from 1 through 154, representing true names (Tab C), and a second listing similarly numbered, representing aliases (Tab D). Number 63 on the true name list reads E. Howard Hunt and on the alias list, Edward Joseph Hamilton. Mr. Franklin explained - which I had forgotten - that we had obtained from TSD this list of outstanding alias birth certificates issued by TSD in an attempt to recall - if possible - as many of these documents, or to determine what had happened to them. (Most of these alias birth certificates were issued in connection with the Bay of Pigs operation)..."
"TRUE NAME...65. HAWKINS, Jack..." - - - Page 3: "ALIAS...65. HASKINS, John Martin..."
John Prados, Safe for Democracy, pp. 219ss-223 (Ivan R. Dee, Chicago, 2006)
10/60:...As Guatemala chief years before, (Jake) Esterline knew the prominent Alejos family...the Helvetia (mountain) plantation became known as Camp Trax...In October there were exactly four CIA trainers at Camp Trax. Its total agency staff numbered nine. Trax lacked any counterintelligence officer for a long time while Radio Swan spent months looking for an announcer...Jake Esterline led a task force many of whose ley slots were filled by people renowned in their specialties, either in Project Success or elsewhere. Take the political action staff: Howard Hunt and Dave Phillips were known political operators, and Jerry Droller was well esteemed...the task force also included Jim Noel, former Havana station chief; his deputy; the Cuba desk officer from WH division...The air boss was Col. Stanley Beerli, CIA's top airman and the mastermind behind U-2 opertions, his field assistant Gar Thorstud...Esterline's deputy, Ed Stanulis, had been top planner for the Western Hemisphere Division. Dick Drain, chief of operations, fresh from service in Greece, had held the same job at the station, and had psychological operations experience in the Eisenhower White House (with Nelson Rockefeller)...The top trainer at Camp Trax was an army Special Forces lieutenant colonel, Frank Egan; and the field commander, Hawkins, had participated in World War II amphibious landings and had been guerrilla commander against the Japanese in the Philippines...Esterline thought highly of (Rip) Robertson and didn't mind bringing him back...(Robertson) became an amphibious warfare trainer, case officer aboard the landing ship Barbara J. Another fresh face was Grayston L. Lynch...Hawkins employed Lynch to train Cuban frogmen and later as case officer aboard the landing ship Blagar."