HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG1539.AM: Joseph M. Hart, 1921-2004
Reminiscences, etc.: 1975, 1990-1991
Waco, Thayer County, Nebraska: Soldier
Size: One folder
BACKGROUND NOTE
Born in Waco, Nebraska, on August 24, 1921, Joseph M. Hart, Jr., graduated from Waco High School. In 1942, he was working as a teller at the Farmers & Traders Bank in Waco when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Shortly thereafter, he enlisted and was sworn in to the Army at Fort Crook, Nebraska. He eventually served in India and Burma with the 490th Bomb Squadron, known as the Burma Bridge Busters. He shipped back to the United States in March of 1945 and received an honorable discharge on October 25, 1945. Shortly after returning to Nebraska, Hart married Wilma Stutt. The couple had three children, Charles, Robert and Jeannine.
Joseph M. Hart, Jr., died in Omaha on January 21, 2004. Wilma (Stutt) Hart died on March 12, 2008. The couple is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Omaha, Nebraska.
SCOPE AND CONTENT
This collection consists of one folder containing a letter written by Joseph M. Hart, Jr., to the director of the Nebraska State Historical Society. In the letter, Hart reminisces about his military service during World War II. A second letter is from Hart to Howard Bell reminiscing about their service in Burma. Also included is a typescript manuscript by Howard Bell entitled, “The Burma Bridge Busters,” written in 1975. The manuscript details activities of the 490th Bomb Squadron and includes a few mentions of Joseph Hart.
Note: Howard Bell and Anthony Strotman published an extended version of The Burma Bridge Busters in 2005.
INVENTORY
Reminiscences by Joseph M. Hart, Jr.
Manuscript copy of “The Burma Bridge Busters” by Howard F. Bell, 1975
Subject headings:
Hart, Joseph M., 1921-2004
Soldiers — Nebraska
United States — Army Air Forces — Bomb Squadron, 490th
World War, 1939-1945 — Aerial operations, American
World War, 1939-1945 — Regimental histories
TMM 08-14-2020
