Deemed an "American hero" by many who knew him, Col. Francis Joe Hart died Friday, May 23.
Hart, 93, moved to Pea Ridge after a long, illustrious military career, including being a prisoner of war during World War II.
After moving to Pea Ridge, Hart became involved in city government, serving on the City Council in the 1990s and running for mayor in 1990, 1994 and 2010.
"He was an American hero," Mayor Jackie Crabtree said. "He earned and deserved our respect."
"His generation is a dying breed. We sometimes had to agree to disagree," Crabtree said, "but he made sure that everything was thought through and done right."
"He's one of the last of a generation that we'll never see again," Police Chief Tim Ledbetter said, telling that Hart once contacted him telling him he wanted to buy a bullet proof vest for a police dog. Ledbetter found a recipient and Hart's donation benefited a dog owned by Guarry Morgan, a Bentonville police officer.
Hart was found in his home by his son Friday. He had been checked on Thursday by police officers who checked on him after a welfare call.
"He was a tremendous man -- a war hero," Irene Kelly said.
"He was an era," Jack Kelly said.
"He was an Air Force pilot," Jack Kelly said, adding that Hart was humble about his military service.
Irene said Hart often said few of us in America really know what it means to be hungry after he suffered time in a concentration camp during WWII. She said she remembered that Hart was determined not to be hungry again and kept a good supply of food on hand.
Hart held a patent for The Patented Cancer Cure Dietary Procedure blaming oxalates for causing cancer. On the website for the procedure, Hart wrote his own autobiography.
Hart grew up in Chicago as one of seven children in a single-parent family. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps 20 days after Pearl Harbor was bombed and was accepted in Aviation Mechanics School. As a second lieutenant, Hart assigned to a squadron based in Great Ashfield, England. He flew his first of 29 combat missions on Dec. 13, 1943.
The final trip was on April 29, 1944. It was his last required mission before rotation to the States, and became mission number 28 ½.
Hart wrote: "Seven bombers in his group were shot down by German, ME109, fighter aircraft. For the next year he was a guest of the German Air Force as a prisoner-of-war. For the next 12 months he was a inmate at three POW camps. After a week of solitary confinement and interrogation, he was transferred to Stalag Luft III, where he along with 10,000 other prisoners struggled to survive. In January 1945, the camp was evacuated because of the Russian Army's drive to Berlin. After 36 hours on the road in temperatures that reached -35 degrees and a train trip, his group arrived at Nuremburg. Two months later they were marched to a camp called Moosburg Stalag 7A."
After the war, Hart continued his military career and was assigned as the base aircraft maintenance officer, Elemendorf AF Base, Anchorage, Alaska. When he returned from Alaska, he was assigned to the Airforce Plant Representative Office, Boeing Airplane Co. plant, Wichita, Kan., as a flight test and acceptance pilot.
The Boeing Airplane Co. was manufacturing and assembling the new six jet-engine heavy bomber, the B-47 Stratojet, which was in development. Hart recorded his first pilot time in the B-47, January 1951. He was assigned as the chief of flight test, Air Force plant representative, Douglas Aircraft Co., Tulsa, Okla., in the B-47 program.
Hart was transferred back to Germany where he was assigned to the U.S. Consulate, West Berlin, U.S. Embassy, West Germany. As a Procurement Liaison Officer for U.S. Air Force units stationed in Europe, his mission was to assist in rebuilding the economy of West Berlin by placing all procurements possible with West Berlin vendors.
He was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal for his service twice. He retired with the rank of Lt. Colonel on Dec. 1, 1967 after 26 years of service.
Following his retirement, he moved to Denver, Colo.,. to work for the Denver Division of the Martin Marietta Corp. For 18 years he was employed in the Quality Control department. The last 13 years he was manager of the Quality Assurance Program of the Titan family of missiles including the current Titan IV. He retired from Martin June 1986.
"He was a fixture around town," Jack Kelly said. "He will be missed."
General News on 05/28/2014