Alaska Highway. Company A and B.
Born: 30 September 1920, Shreveport, LA. Died: 16 November 2014, Ft. Worth, TX. Enlisted: 1941.
He attended the college of engineering at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and was a 1st Lt. with the ROTC, Company B.
On April 29, 1942, Lt. Hart with Company A of the segregated 97th Engineer Regiment landed in Valdez, Alaska. There was two feet of snow on the ground. The 97th Engineers built the northern section of the Highway and left Alaska in July of 1943 for their next assignment in the Philippines.
Lt. Hart was with Company A from April 1942 to January 1943. He was promoted to 1st Lt. in September 1942. His next assignment was platoon leader for Company B from February 1943 to June 1943.
He came home and married his childhood friend, Alice Louise Gatti on 9 February 1946 at the First Methodist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana. He founded the Hart Lumber Company in Shreveport, LA with his father, Warren Bryan Hart and his brother James P. Hart. His mother was Bertha Jones Hart.
After the birth of James V. Hart, he and Alice moved the family to Jackson, Michigan to continue and expand the family business. David Albert, a second son, was born in Michigan.
Always looking for new horizons, Al found the booming town of Ft. Worth, TX, moved his family to that city and expanded his business. He operated a lumber treating business in Ft. Worth until he retired in 1995.
He and his wife Alice founded the first Aids Outreach Center in Fort Worth in 1991 in memory of their son, David, who died from AIDS in 1988.
He was very active in sports. In the 50’s he played fast pitch softball with his church team. He played golf at the Colonial Country Club and skied at Winter Park, CO.
Serial #O-430547