CHESTER B. HACKETT JR.

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Graveside services with military honors for retired Air Force Col. Chester B. Hackett Jr., 99, of 100 Ott Road, Columbia, will be held at 3 p.m. on Thursday at Evergreen Memorial Park, Sumter. Col. Hackett died on Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018.

Born on Sept. 3, 1919, in Meridian, Mississippi, he was a son of the late Fannie Yerger Julienne and the late Chester B. Hackett Sr. He attended Spartanburg city schools and Clemson College, entering the U.S. Army Air Corps in June 1940. After completing flying school, he remained at Randolph Field, San Antonio, Texas, as a flight instructor. Following this assignment, he was transferred to Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho, to assist in forming the 448th Bomb Group, 2nd Air Division, 8th Air Force, subsequently leading, as squadron commander, the 713th Bomb Squadron overseas to RAF Seething, East Anglia, United Kingdom, and then flying B-24 Liberator heavy bombers over enemy targets. Hit by enemy fire on his 24th mission over Germany as deputy lead pilot, then Maj. Hackett successfully crashlanded his disabled aircraft and was interned in Germany as a prisoner of war. He was awarded a number of decorations citing outstanding valor, flying skill and leadership ability in both war and peace. Col. Hackett's military career included service as commander of combat squadrons in both the strategic and tactical air commands stationed at bases in Texas, Idaho, Florida, Maryland, District of Columbia, Kansas, Arkansas, Iceland, South Africa and England.

Following his retirement from the Air Force, Col. Hackett was associated with the U.S. Weather Bureau in Cleveland, Ohio, then with the University of Florida as a statistician while residing with his family in St. Petersburg, Florida, returning to South Carolina in 1982. He enjoyed all sports, especially hunting and fishing, and was noted for his ability to hit those long golf shots into his 80's.

He is survived by his wife of 71 years, Betty Beaty Hackett; three sons, retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Stephen Beaty Hackett and his wife, Beth, and her daughters, Sara and Aliya Boozari, and Roy Thomas Hackett and James Beaty Hackett; two daughters, Dr. Lynn Hunter Hackett and Betsy Julienne Hackett-Davis and her husband, Fred Shepard Davis, all of Columbia; cousins, the Rev. Charles Scott May of Atlanta and Marietta and Paul S. Julienne of Fairfax, Virginia; and a brother-in-law, James S. Beaty and his family of Bluffton and Beaufort. Also surviving are the families of his sister, Betty Hackett Smith and her husband, Arthur F. Smith; sister-in-law, Ruth H. Beaty and her husband, Wilson W. Garrison; and brother-in-law, Dr. Robert W. Beaty and his wife, Alice B. Beaty.

Col. Hackett was predeceased by his parents; a daughter, Harriett Julienne Hackett; sisters, Frances Johnston Hackett and Betty Hackett Smith; sisters-in-law, Patsy H. Beaty, Ruth B. Garrison and Alice B. Beaty; brothers-in-law, Robert W. Beaty, Arthur F. Smith and Wilson W. Garrison; and cousin, John Albert Snelling.

Memorials may be made to a charity of one's choice or to the American Red Cross, an organization Col. Hackett credited with helping him and his comrades survive while interned as prisoners of war during World War II.

The family is very grateful for the comforting, compassionate care Col. Hackett received from the Community Living Center and the Warriors Walk at the Dorn VA Medical Center, Columbia.

Honorary pallbearers will be nephews, Glen W., Lewis A., Neil O. and Arthur F. Smith, Robert H., Paul W., Lee S., Robert H. Jr. and Benjamin P. Beaty and James R. Garrison, as well as Wesley M. Blanding and Robert S. Wilson Jr. and members of the Ex-POWs of America, Palmetto Chapter, Columbia.

Arrangements are being made by Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home and Crematory, 221 Broad St., Sumter.

The family will be at the graveside and other times at the home at 100 Ott Road, Columbia.

Online condolences may be sent to www.sumterfunerals.com.

Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home & Crematory, 221 Broad St., Sumter, is in charge of the arrangements, (803) 775-9386.