More detail on this person: Funeral services
with full military honors for retired Lt. Col.
William E. Hattaway will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at
the First Baptist Church in Copperas Cove. Burial
will follow at Central Texas State Veterans
Cemetery in Killeen.
Mr. Hattaway died May 19, 2014, peacefully at his
home in Kempner. He was born in 1933 in Atmore,
Ala., to Fonzie and Louise Hattaway. He spent the
first six years of his life on a family cotton
farm where he picked cotton alongside his mother,
an endeavor that laid the groundwork for his
steadfast work ethic, which followed him
throughout his life.
When his family moved to Pensacola, Fla., Bill
recalled, "I spent weekdays delivering newspapers
before the start of school and weekends at
Brownsville Baptist Church." While attending
Pensacola High School, he lettered in football and
excelled in math.
Upon graduation in 1950, he worked at Gulf Power
Company for three years before being drafted into
the U.S. Army in 1953 and that same year married
the love of his life, Mary Louise Black. Following
his graduation from Officer Candidate School in
1954, he spent the next two years as a fixed-wing
pilot in Korea, returning to Fort Rucker, Ala.,
where he earned his helicopter pilot training and
was selected to serve as an instructor in the
Department of Rotary Wing.
In 1960, he attended the advanced course at Fort
Benning, Ga., and soon transferred to Nuremberg,
Germany, serving in the 2nd Armored Cavalry
Regiment as a patrol pilot on the
Czechoslovakian/East German border. In 1964, he
received his Bachelor of Science at the University
of Nebraska, and subsequently assumed command
of Headquarters Company, 512 AIB at Fort Hood.
He joined the 1st Airmobile Cavalry Division in
1965 and deployed to Vietnam with Charlie
Company, 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion.
Returning in 1966, he served in III Corps
Aviation, attended Command and General Staff
College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and completed
the Helicopter Instructor Examiner Course at Fort
Rucker, Ala., before being reassigned to Fort Hood
as the 1st AD Aviation Officer.
In 1969, he assumed command of the 1/13th Tank
Battalion, 1st Armored Division, and then spent a
year in London, England, with the Army
Standardization Group. Once again returning to
Fort Hood, he finished his military career as a
test officer with the ACCB Directorate at MASSTER
Headquarters and retired in 1973.
A career defined by much success, his awards
include the National Defense Service Medal with
one oak leaf cluster; Combat Infantryman Badge,
Master Army Aviator Badge, Armed Forces Reserve
Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Vietnam Service
Medal with three bronze service stars, Republic of
Vietnam Campaign Medal, Army Commendation
Medal with Valor Device and one oak leaf cluster,
Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal with Valor Device and
numeral 13, Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple
Heart, the Presidential Unit Citation, and the
Meritorious Unit Emblem.
In 1974, Bill and Mary started Hattaway
Construction and over the next 38 years they
developed subdivisions and built residential and
commercial properties in Lampasas, Bell and
Coryell counties.
Mr. Hattaway was preceded in death by the love of
his life, Mary Black Hattaway, his cherished wife
of 60 years; parents, Louise and Fonzie Hattaway;
beloved in-laws, Gillis and Eddie Bell Black.
Survivors include his children, Bridget Hattaway
of Copperas Cove, Ed Hattaway of Austin and Brett
Hattaway of Kempner; grandchildren, Jared Mullins
of Killeen, Sgt. Jake Mullins and his wife, Mary,
of Grafenwoehr, Germany, Austin Hattaway of
Kempner, Abby Hattaway of Georgetown and Jade
Fox of Florence; great-grandchild, Carsyn Mullins;
sister, Amelia Harvell, and brother, Dan Hattaway,
both of Pensacola, Fla.; and numerous nieces,
nephews and a multitude of treasured friends. In
lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests
donations be made in his name to the Foundation of
the First Cavalry Division Association, 302 N.
Main St., Copperas Cove, TX, 76522.
Visitation is from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at
Crawford-Bowers Funeral Home in Copperas Cove,
which is in charge of arrangements.
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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