Kern County Obituaries

Wilson T. Hathcoat

Submitted by Don Stowell; 13 Feb 2008

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Mojave Desert News; 21 Aug 1947

Being a reporter is one of the most interesting jobs I ever had but at times, it can 
also be a very depressing job. The story I have to tell you in this column is not a 
pleasant one for it brings to my memory the heartaches and torture that can be caused 
by someone's carelessness. The death of Pfc. Wilson T. Hathcoat is one that will long 
be remembered. Thursday night, about 3:00 p.m. I talked to Hathcoat, laughed with 
him, and kidded him about several things.
Friday morning, just twelve hours later, I heard of his death.
Pfc. Hathcoat was burned to death in the fire of the Non Commissioned Officers 
Club, at approximately 2:00 a.m. Pfc. Hathcoat was the night watchman, and slept 
in the club. The fire started somewhere near, the bar, and swept out into the dance 
floor, before he awakened. His body was found, severely burned, near the office 
door where he had tried unsuccessfully to break his way out. His body is resting in 
the Station Hospital Morgue, and will later be shipped back to his wife and children 
in Tennessee. For hours, I have tried to think of something to say about Hathcoat, 
that would be deserving enough to him. What can be said of a boy that was good 
and kind and as willing to help others as Hathcoat? We can all say that, but the 
feelings in all the hearts of the personnel here at Muroc could never be expressed in 
cold print on a piece of paper. The sadness, the shock can never be told. We can 
only say one thing that we feel, WE'LL MISS HIM.