On March 20, Otis Alton Hamm, a long-time resident of Irving, died in Sarasota, Florida, at the age of 93. Al was born on 7 January 1923 in Monroe, Louisiana, then joined the US Navy in 1943. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and 3 Gold Stars for his service as a Navy fighter pilot in World War II on the USS Kadashan Bay, an aircraft carrier in the Pacific fleet. After the war, he joined American Airlines as a pilot based at DFW airport from 1955 till his retirement, after which he taught at the AA Flight Academy for another 20 years. Al, who ran a cattle ranch in his spare time, attended the First Baptist Church of Irving for many years. He is survived by three children, Bruce Hamm, Deborah Hamm and Pamela Erickson, and three grandchildren, Evan, Susan and Michael. Burial was at Oak Grove Memorial Gardens under the direction of Donnellys Colonial Funeral Home.