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Mark O. Hatfield was born July 12, 1922 in Dallas OR. He is the son of Dovie Oden Hatfield, a school teacher, and Charles Hatfield, a railroad blacksmith. Mark graduated from Salem High School and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Willamette University in 1943.
After graduation, he joined the U.S. Navy, taking part in 2 battles at Iwo Jima and Okinawa as a landing craft officer. He also witnessed the effects of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. After Japan, he served in French Indochina. After his discharge from the Navy he obtained a Master's degree in political science from Stanford University in 1948.
In 1950, while teaching political science and serving as dean of students at Willamette University, he began his political career in the Oregon legislature. After 2 terms in the Oregon State House of Representatives, and 2 years in the Oregon State Senate, he became the youngest Secretary of State in Oregon History, he was 34 years old. Two years later he was elected Governor of Oregon, and became the state's 2 term Governor in the 20th century when he was re-elected in 1962. In 1966 he won a seat in the U.S. Senate, a position he held for 5 terms. Senator Hatfield retired in 1996, having never lost an election. He currently teaches at George Fox University in Newberg, OR.
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