Former Fort Stewart/Hunter commander dead at 86

SAVANNAH - Retired Brig. Gen. Frank Meszar, who built a flight training school at Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield during the Vietnam era, has died. He was 86. <br> <br> Funeral arrangements were incomplete Wednesday night. His daughter, Sarah Sloan, said a memorial service will be held in Savannah, but Meszar will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. <br> <br> His grave will be next to his first wife and son, Capt. Frank Meszar III, who was killed in action in Vietnam. <br> <br> Meszar served at Fort Stewart and Hunter from March 1967 to June 1969 as commander of the U.S. Army Flight Training Center. He was also deputy commander of the U.S. Army Aviation School at Fort Rucker, Ala., during that time. <br> <br> During Meszar&#39;s command, the Army trained helicopter pilots who later served in Vietnam, said Walter Meeks, director of the Fort Stewart Museum. <br> <br> ``Anybody who lived in coastal Georgia at the time remembers the sky being full of helicopters,&#39;&#39; Meeks said. ``There were a whole of lot people prepared here to go fight battles. He took a patch of piney woods and a bunch of World War II buildings and made a flight training center.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Meszar graduated from West Point in 1940. He served in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War, receiving a Silver Star and a Bronze Star. <br> <br> ``He could do everything,&#39;&#39; Sloan said. ``He was remarkable man. He took care of everybody. He was a true officer and a gentleman.&#34;