Battle of Rorke's Drift close to defeating the much smaller garrison, but were ultimately repelled. Eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded to the defenders, along with a number of other decorations and honours. Rorke's Drift, known as "kwaJimu" ("Jim's Land") in the Zulu language, was a mission station and the former trading post of James Rorke, an Irish merchant. It was located near a drift, or ford, on the Buffalo (Mzinyathi) River, which at the time formed the border between the British colony of Natal and the Zulu Kingdom. On 9 January 1879, the British No. 3 (Centre) Column, under Lord Chelmsford, arrived and encamped
Jack Hawkins (U.S. Marine Corps officer) Branch 4 (WH/4). He was already fluent in Spanish, and under his command were Grayston Lynch and William "Rip" Robertson as the CIA representatives in the amphibious landings. ( Col. Stanley W. Beerli, the chief of air operations, reported to Richard Bissell ). From his base in Miami, he instructed the combatants via radio links relayed via US Navy ships, aiming to defeat Cuban government forces in the conflict. He retired from the Marines in 1965. Jack Hawkins (U.S. Marine Corps officer) Jack L. Hawkins (October 25, 1916, Roxton, Texas – May 17, 2013 in Fredericksburg, Virginia) was a United