Dick Hewitt was born in December 1920 as one of six sons of a western New York farmer. He enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in 1941, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Hewitt graduated from cadet flight school and was part of one of the first replacement pilot groups to travel overseas in P-47 aircraft. He completed two tours of combat in the P-47 before completing 144 hours in the P-51 Mustang in December 1944.

Hewitt finished World War II with 425 hours in 140 combat missions, all with the 78th Fighter Group. He retired from the Air Force reserve in 1963 with over 20 years of service.

In civilian life, Hewitt retired from the DuPont Company in 1982 after more than 29 years with the firm. He also authored and self-published a book, Target of Opportunity, which was released with global distribution in December 2000.

Hewitt also graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science degree where he met his wife Lyn. The two just celebrated their 60th anniversary! The couple now resides in Lawrence, Kansas.

Hewitt has been active is civic affairs, including 23 years of Volunteer Tax Counseling for Seniors with AARP and frequent public speaking appearances on WWII; making it known to never forget those comrades in Arms, who did not survive the War.