Frank Hatten was born in Dalhart, Texas in 1916. Son of Ed and Gulielma (Boon) Hatten, he grew up on a farm near Eastland, Texas. In 1944 he married Fannie Adele Swaney of Ranger, Texas, after completing pilot training at Douglas A.F.B. in Arizona. As a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Force, Frank Hatten completed 15 missions piloting a B-17 over Germany. On his 16th mission, he was flying in the copilot’s seat, being checked out for a group lead position by Col. Robert Clay, when their plane suffered engine failure and flak on a bombing mission to Berlin. Eight crew members bailed out safely, but Lt. Hatten remained with Capt. Clay to help him crash-land the plane in a field on the island of Als in southern Denmark. Although the plane broke in two, Hatten and Clay miraculously survived. The entire crew was captured and survived nearly a year in German prison camps. The officers endured a two-day forced march in winter from a camp Sagan (in Prussian Germany) to a railhead for transport to Moosberg (near Munich), where elements of General Patton’s command successfully liberated the camp in 1945. Continuing as an officer in the USAF, Capt. Hatten earned a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin. Lt. Col. Hatten led one of the first squadrons of C-130s in Oklahoma (1958-60), Okinawa (1960-61), and South Carolina (1961-64). Further stations included Langley A.F.B. in Virginia (1964-65), Headquarters 12th Air Force in Waco (1965-68), and Dyess A.F.B. in Abilene (1968), where he returned to flying for a brief stint during the Vietnam War. He retired from the Air Force in Waco in 1968. A member of First United Methodist Church of Waco, he also served as President of the Heart-of-Texas Lions Club. With his beloved wife, Dell, he attended an international gathering of the Lions Club in New Orleans, and made many trips to visit family. For many years after her death in 1992, he traveled to 351st Bomb Group reunions and Prisoner of War reunions, and he attended the dedication of the WWII memorial in Washington, D.C. Especially memorable were reunions at his WWII airbase at Polebrook, England, and a state ceremony at the field in Denmark where his plane crashed, during which he and three other surviving crew members (including Capt. Clay) were presented official decorations as honorary members of the Danish Defense Brotherhood. A memorial has since been erected at the site. He also traveled to Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Italy, and Israel with his son for music conferences, where he was always popular among the participants. He was beloved by family and friends for his deep love, his eternal optimism, his generosity, his humor, his passion for golf, and his joy in living. He leaves behind one brother, Ray Hatten (Cisco), two daughters, Frances Ann Monken (Austin) and Patricia Jane Terrell (Lucas), one son, Robert Swaney Hatten (Austin), two grandchildren, Janet Pilkington and Karen Monken, and two great-grandchildren, Brittany and Alex Pilkington. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews and their families. Funeral services will be held 10:00 a.m., Monday, October 3, 2011 at Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Chapel in Allen, Texas. Interment to follow at Evergreen Cemetery in Ranger, Texas. The family will receive friends during a visitation on Sunday from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the funeral home.