Brazos Valley Pearl Harbor survivor and WWII veteran laid to rest

CALDWELL, Texas (KBTX) – Thursday a Pearl Harbor survivor and decorated World War II veteran was laid to rest at 99-years-old.

Horace Bishop Hamilton Jr. was well known across the Brazos Valley for his willingness to share his story and help others in any situation. He was dedicated to his family, consisting of children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren.

“My middle name is Bishop after him, I spent my summers with them. He taught me farming and taught me how to run the place, building fence, building hay, and he definitely was a great teacher for all of us and he will be missed,” Bryan Bishop Moore, Horace’s grandson, said. “It’s just an honor to be able to carry his name on.”

But, Moore and those who gathered to honor the veteran said remembering Horace is more than just remembering the man.

“Please, we’re forgetting history. We must always remember Pearl Harbor. We must always remember 9/11,” Franklin Karasek, a Veterans Service Officer and neighbor to Horace, said.

KBTX spoke with Horace during a Veteran’s Day ceremony in 2022, almost one year before his passing. During the interview, he shared the importance of remembering history but was humble about his role as an American hero.

“I’m no hero. I’m just a sailor. I just did my part in whatever I had to do,” Horace said in 2022.

Despite this, those who loved him the most say they will keep his historic and heroic legacy alive.

“It was an honor to be a neighbor of his. I learned a lot from him, my grandsons just enjoyed him, my whole family enjoyed visiting with him and learning about Pearl Harbor and he was just a great man, a great neighbor,” Karasek said.

“It means a lot. My two daughters that he was thankful he got to be around and was trying to teach them, to teach us and he’s just a great teacher of everything,” Moore said. “He wanted everybody to know about history and it was his legacy. As for everything he did, he definitely is a hero to me and a lot of other people.”

Following the funeral service at the Strickland Funeral Home in Caldwell, the city flew an American flag over the procession as the family escorted Horace to his final resting place in Pflugerville.