Joseph L. Hart is one of those people who have seen it all and done it all, from the peace and tranquility of meeting Pope John Paul II to having police dogs turned on him at the race riots of 1964-65.

Before any of this came into play, Joseph, like many men of that era, decided to join the war effort. He ended up serving on the Aircraft Carrier Monterey which was the same one that President-to-be Gerald Ford was assigned to. President Ford was one of the gunnery officers on the carrier that fought in the Pacific campaign. They did not meet on the carrier but met later on when President Ford spoke at his college before becoming the 38th President.