Back in the 1950s when Gene Hartman was a college student, he knew he wanted a U.S. Air Force career. What he didn’t know was that he would find a second career — and love — in Civil Air Patrol.
The future CAP colonel learned firsthand the positive influence the organization can have in a young person’s life.
Hartman was stationed in Hawaii as an Air Force fighter pilot in the early 1970s. The older of his two sons, Randy, was a freshman in high school when Hartman had a brainstorm.
“I convinced him to go visit Civil Air Patrol,” Hartman said.
Randy did, and he and his dad were so impressed they both joined in September 1971. Randy is no longer in CAP, but Gene, now 89, is a 50-year member and still quite active.
Today, whenever he talks to young people he always asks if they know anything about Civil Air Patrol.
If they say “no,” he tells them about the organization.
If they say “yes,” he encourages them to join and take advantage of all CAP has to offer.
“I’ve done that all my life that I’ve been involved with Civil Air Patrol,” Hartman said.
His encouragement goes beyond words. He’s also established the Col. Gene Hartman Missouri Wing Flight Scholarship Fund to pay for flying lessons for cadets in his wing.
“I just want to give back to the cadets,” he said.
The scholarship began a few years back, when six cadets in Hartman’s Branson-based Table Rock Lake Composite Squadron expressed interest in learning to fly.
Hartman immediately said he would make scholarships available for them.
All six soloed, and since then others have benefited from his generosity.
One such cadet is Tristan Hayes, a Branson High School senior who’s a cadet airman first class in the Table Rock Lake squadron. Hartman lives in Springfield, about 45 miles north, but frequently travels to Branson, assisting cadets however he can.
Thanks to the Hartman Scholarship, Hayes soloed Sept. 19, 2022, an adventure he’ll never forget.
“I can’t even describe the experience,” he said. “It was surreal.”
Hayes is working on getting a private pilot certificate and has applied to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in hopes of being accepted to its Daytona Beach, Florida, campus. He’s planning a career as a commercial airline pilot or corporate pilot.
“Whatever it is, I just want to fly,” Hayes said.
Hayes joined CAP in November 2020 at age 14. The very first week, he enjoyed an orientation ride. That was all it took.
Since then, he has taken full advantage of all Civil Air Patrol has to offer.
In return, he wants to someday take a young person up for an orientation ride to experience that same thrill.
Establishing the scholarship fund was just the latest step Hartman has taken to benefit young people who might be interested in CAP.
A few years ago, he bought the Table Rock Lake squadron a $12,000 flight simulator that replicates piloting the squadron’s G1000 aircraft.
Hartman participated in Air Force ROTC at North Dakota State College in Wahpeton, where he met his future wife, Joan. After graduating, he joined the Air Force.
During his active-duty years, Hartman served in many places, including Thailand, where he flew 310 combat hours during the Vietnam War.
He’s also a recipient of the Federal Aviation Administration’s prestigious Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award.
Following retirement in 1988 after a 30-year career, Hartman continued to work for the Air Force as a civilian. And he continued flying as a member of Civil Air Patrol.
For many years, he was an instructor and director at national flight academies, and he has been a commander at the squadron, wing, and region levels and also served at CAP National Headquarters.
Hartman’s contributions to CAP seem endless. In July he assisted six cadets and two adult members from his squadron in getting to Dayton, Ohio, for CAP’s National Cadet Competition.
Making the trip would have been tough, maybe impossible, without a “significant contribution” from Hartman, said Lt. Col. Lanna Fletcher, deputy commander for cadets.
Fletcher is also the Missouri Wing’s director of aerospace education, and her own son benefited from Hartman’s generous scholarship fund, like so many other cadets.
“He just has such a heart for youth,” Fletcher said.
“He is super-passionate about helping those kids,” said Lt. Col. Chuck Stone, the squadron’s safety officer. _____Loretta FultonContributing Writer
