| − | Hatten was born in Sikes in Winn Parish to William Earl Hatten and the former Pina Head. The Hattens moved to West Monroe in 1940. There in 1945, he graduated from Ouachita Parish High School in [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]].</ref> At the age of seventeen, Hatten entered the United States Merchant Marine during [[World War II]] and served for three years. When the war ended, he was aboard the ''USS Grove City Victory'', which was anchored in [[Tokyo Bay]] near the [[USS Missouri]], on which [[General]] [[Douglas MacArthur]] accepted the formal surrender of Japan. Upon his return from the war, Hatten continued his education at Northeast Junior College, now the University of Louisiana at Monroe. | + | Hatten was born in Sikes in Winn Parish to William Earl Hatten and the former Pina Head. The Hattens moved to West Monroe in 1940. There in 1945, he graduated from Ouachita Parish High School in [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]].</ref> At the age of seventeen, Hatten entered the United States Merchant Marine during [[World War II]] and served for three years. When the war ended, he was aboard the ''USS Grove City Victory'', which was anchored in Tokyo Bay near the ''USS Missouri'', on which [[General]] [[Douglas MacArthur]] accepted the formal surrender of Japan on V-J Day in 1945. Upon his return from the war, Hatten continued his education at Northeast Junior College, now the University of Louisiana at Monroe. |