Local veteran takes part in Honor Flight

But Hargett can be known for one more reason that is more important than being a long-time member of the community or a bluegrass musician: Clyde Hargett is a World War II veteran.

Hargett was drafted in the fall of 1945 when he was 18-years-old.

The fighting had already ended but soldiers were still needed for rebuilding projects going on in Japan.

“I really dreaded it,” Hargett said, “and not just because I would have to leave home. I knew the Japanese still had floating mines out in the ocean that would blow up ships, and I’m not a good swimmer.”

Hargett and the other soldiers traveling with him made it to Tokyo where he was under General Douglas MacArthur’s command.

After being there a short time, he began work in a tire shop fixing flat tires. He soon transferred jobs and he became a bus driver for civilian passengers in Tokyo.

Even though America had just ended a major war with the country he was in, Hargett said it only took a short time to get used to seeing the Japanese citizens on a daily basis.

“I was worried for the first month or so about the Japanese people and if they might be hostile, but they would stop and bow to you when you passed them in the streets,” Hargett said. “I got used to seeing them every day.”

Hargett was stationed in Japan for 15 months before he was able to come home.

“I didn’t tell my family specifically when I would be home,” Hargett said. “I just told them I was fixing to ship out.”

Three weeks after he relayed this news, Hargett surprised his family with his homecoming. He was glad to be back home on American soil.

“I wanted to come home every day I was in Japan,” Hargett said. “But looking back on it, it was a good experience, and I’m glad I had it now.”

World War II veterans like Hargett have been honored in many different ways over the years for their dedication and service, but a program based in the Huntsville area went a few steps farther than normal memorial programs.

The Honor Flight Tennessee Valley program was initially conceived in 2004 by Earl Morse, a retired Air Force captain. The goal of the program was to fly World War II veterans to Washington, D.C. to see the National World War II Memorial dedicated in their honor.

The inaugural flight for Honor Flight Tennessee Valley was April 4, 2007, and the final flight for the program was this past Saturday, September 11.

While operating, the program has transported over 1,200 veterans to Washington, D.C.

Hargett’s family has always been proud of his service so when his niece, retired Tharptown teacher Judy Hargett Malone, heard about the Honor Flight Tennessee Valley program, she knew that it was something Hargett deserved.

“She really pushed me to be a part of this flight,” Hargett said. “I didn’t want to go at first because I didn’t really feel deserving, but once Judy got me to sign up, I was ready to go.”

Hargett was contacted six months after he turned in his application at the Franklin County Courthouse and told be would be on the April 24 flight.

“The name was very fitting because they really did honor you,” Hargett said. “Every person had a ‘guardian’ who carried all your things and took pictures for you. It really thrilled me.”

Members of Hargett’s flight visited the National World War II Memorial where they took pictures and remembered fallen comrades. They also visited Arlington National Cemetery where they witnessed the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns, the Korean War Veterans Memorial and the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial.

And while the trip was an amazing experience, the welcome home Hargett and fellow flight participants received was almost equally as amazing.

“There had to have been around 5,000 people there to greet us at the airport when we got back,” Hargett said. “There were kids there from the first and second grades handing out letters to all of us getting off the plane. I got three of those letters and they were just thanking me for my service. That’s something that’ll really get next to you. It made me shed a few tears.”

Hargett is very thankful to have been part of the Tennessee Valley Honor Flight program, but really, it’s the volunteers of the program and the citizens of this country who are thankful for veterans like Hargett.