William B. Hiatt, Jr.

HIATT, JR., WILLIAM B. William B. Hiatt, Jr., age 83, of Waco died Monday, July 7, 2003 at his home. Graveside services will be held at 10am Thursday, July 10 Thursday at Oakwood Cemetery with Rev. Howard Martin officiating. Visitation with the family will be from 6-8pm Wednesday, July 9 at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey, 6101 Bosque Blvd. Mr. Hiatt was born June 9, 1920 in Ferris, Texas. He graduated from Waco High School in 1937, and received B.A. and M.A. Degrees from Baylor University. Mr. Hiatt served his country in World War II in the European Theater of Operations as a B-17 pilot. He was Aircraft Commander with 27 combat missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Presidential Unit Citation for participation in the first daylight bombing of Berlin. Lt. Col. Hiatt was also awarded the George Washington Medal of Honor by the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge in 1956 for his articles on “Our State in the American Way”. Following World II he worked for the airline industry including Braniff in Dallas and Trans-Texas Airlines in Houston. Later, he transferred to the VA Regional Office in Waco, where he retired in 1989. Following retirement he taught economics in the evening program at McLennan Community College. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Willie Ledbetter Hiatt; daughter and son-in-law, Linda and Kenneth Netherland of Speegleville; sister-in-law, Betty Smith of Waco; brother-in-law, O. J. Pittman of Abilene; nieces and nephews, Mike and Diane Smith of Arlington; Patrick and Laurie Smith of Fresno, California; Patti and John Simmons of Georgetown; David and Anne Pittman, and Cory and Penny Pittman of Abilene. Honorary pallbearers are James Tountas, Dick Casbeer, Frank Mabry, Dan Howard, John Fowler, Hubert Kraft, Dan Drewer, Dave Goodwin, and Mark Fuqua. Memorials may be made to charity of choice. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our “Memorial Guestbook” at www.wilkirsonhatchbailey.com. WILKIRSON-HATCH-BAILEY