SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - Hundreds of people, from family, to friends, to those who didn't even know him, lined up outside the funeral home Monday to pay their respects to Clarence Dart, a Tuskegee Airman who died on Friday at the age of 91.
"Everybody has been coming through saying what a great man he was and how much they are going to miss him, we're all going to miss him," said Denise Dart, one of Clarence's eight children.
She said Clarence Dart was known as a hero to many people because of his days with the Tuskegee Airmen, but to her, he was a hero because he was such a great father.
"He made every holiday, he would do something every holiday, he would take us on rides to nowhere, just driving around every Sunday and we'd go different places, and he used to take us to the Ballston Spa airport when it was affordable," said Denise.
Despite his love for flying, Denise said it wasn't until later in life that she really learned about his time with the Tuskegee Airmen, in which he flew 95 missions.
"He never brought that up, never brought that up, we didn't know about the stuff he did until his friends would bring it up especially when he got shot down twice, I said, ‘dad I heard you got shot down twice and he said yea I got shot down twice,' and that's all he said," said Denise.
She said what she will miss most about her father is watching Mets games. "He'd come to my house and watch the Mets games and just sit and have a chat, you could talk to him about anything and that's what I'll miss the most," said Denise.
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