Hendrick, David Stewart, III

David Stewart Hendrick III was born in Washington D.C. on January 21, 1914, to David Stewart, Jr. and Francis Gardner (Brown) Hendrick.
He moved to New Bedford in 1922 and to Florida in 1944; he returned to the city in 1993.

He graduated from Tabor Academy in Marion in 1933.

He worked at the First National Bank of New Bedford before becoming a senior partner in the family-owned W.B. Hibbs Co., a stock brokerage firm in Washington, D.C.

In Florida, he was a citrus grower, and was active in the cattle business and farming.

Hendrick volunteered for the American Field Service (AFS) in December 1941. He sailed from New York with unit ME 4 in February 1942, and arrived in the Middle East on April 10, 1942. He served with the British Eighth Army in North Africa and Italy, and with the Fighting French section attached to the British Eighth Army in North Africa before his repatriation in February 1944.

He was awarded an honorary membership in the Order of the British Empire by King George VI. He received the King George Medal, the Star of Africa Medal and the Star of Italy Medal. With the French, he received the Croix de Guerre with palms and the Croix de Lorraine. He was a hereditary companion of the Massachusetts Commandery of the Loyal Legion of the United States of America.
He was credited with all his military service abroad and was recognized as a member of the U.S. Army. He received the Good Conduct Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.

He was a charter member of the Florida Citrus Mutual; a member of the American Hereford Association, the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Fla., First Unitarian Church, the Wamsutta Club and the Luncheon Club. He was a life member of the Old Dartmouth Historical Association.

David Stewart Hendrick III, of Dartmouth, 91, died Wednesday, December 21, 2005.

His memoir, "Following Orders, World War II and more", was published in 2002.

[Bio courtesy of AFS Archives, New York]