George Hardy (Tuskegee Airman)

Lieutenant Colonel George Hardy
Birth name	George Edward Hardy
Born	(1925-06-08) June 8, 1925 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army Air Force
Years of service	1943–1971
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Unit	332nd Fighter Group
Awards	Distinguished Flying Crosses (2) Congressional Gold Medal Legion of Merit Air Medal clusters (13)
Spouse(s)	2nd wife Bonnie

George Hardy (born June 8, 1925) is an American retired pilot and military officer. In World War II Hardy served with the Tuskegee Airmen and flew 21 combat missions. In the Korean War he flew 45 combat mission as the pilot of a bomber. In the Vietnam War Hardy flew 70 combat missions piloting an AC-119K gunship.

Early life

Hardy's parents names were Edward Hardy and Alma Vargas. He was exposed to racism and segregation growing up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated high school in 1942 and wanted to join the military because his older brother had joined the U.S. Navy in 1941. When he joined the Army Air Corps in 1943 the U.S. military was segregated. Hardy faced discrimination from commanders in the Army. After WWII (1947) Hardy went to school at New York University School of Engineering and Science until 1948. Hardy wanted to be an Engineer, he did not plan to make a career in the Air Force.

Education

• Walter George Smith School
• South Philadelphia High School
• Bachelor of Science Degree – Electrical Engineering
• Master of Science Degree – Systems Engineering-Reliability – U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology
• Honorary Doctorate of Public Service from Tuskegee University.

Military service

World War II

The Tuskegee Airmen's aircraft had distinctive markings that led to the name, "Red Tails."

In 1943 when Hardy was 17, he joined the Army Air Corps that same year he began training to fly at the Tuskegee Air Field late. He was deployed to Keesler Army Air Field in Biloxi, Mississippi for basic training. He graduated in 1944 as a second Lieutenant in the United States Army. He was qualified to fly single-engine planes and sent to Walterboro Army Air Field in South Carolina to train for combat. He completed his combat training in 1945 and was then sent to Italy. Hardy became one of only about 450 Tuskegee Airmen who were deployed overseas. He flew 21 combat missions over Germany in 1945. The majority of his missions he escorted bombers to their targets. After the war, Hardy went back to Tuskegee to train pilots.

Korean War

Hardy was recalled in 1948 and sent to Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi. He was sent to Guam with the 19th Bomb Group. He then was sent to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa: he flew a B-29 and piloted 45 combat missions over Korea. One senior officer, then-Lt Col Fred W. Miller, disliked Hardy because of his race and he removed him from a B-29 mission. That B-29 was shot down in North Korean airspace.

On a later assignment, Hardy would report to Miller who experienced a complete turnaround; Miller would regard Hardy as one of his best commanders.

Vietnam War

Hardy flew 70 missions piloting a C-119 gunship in the Vietnam War. He flew missions at night using infrared to destroy North Vietnamese supply routes and convoys in Laos and Cambodia.

Honors and awards

99th Fighter Squadron patch

• The Air Medal
• Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster.
• Congressional Gold Medal (2007)
• Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor
• Florida Veterans Hall of Fame
• 11 Oak Leaf Clusters
• Tuskegee University - Honorary Doctorate Degree of Public Service (2006)

After service

Hardy was one of 188 Tuskegee airmen who attended President Barack Obama’s first inauguration. He now travels the country telling the story of the Tuskegee Airmen and speaking about segregation.

Hardy, along with 1949 Top Gun winners James H. Harvey, III, and Harry T. Stewart, Jr., and Dr. Eugene J. Richardson, Jr. are among the last surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen and the last four survivors that graduated from Tuskegee AAF as single engine fighter pilots. Of these four, only Hardy and Stewart served as fighter pilots flying the red tail painted P-51D's on combat missions with the 332nd FG overseas based at Ramitelli AB, Italy. The actual P-51 that Hardy flew on many of his combat missions was restored to the markings of "Tall in the Saddle" in England and still flies at airshows there.

See also

• Executive Order 9981
• List of Tuskegee Airmen
• List of Tuskegee Airmen Cadet Pilot Graduation Classes
• Military history of African Americans

External links

• Fly (2009 play about the 332d Fighter Group)
• George Hardy Interview
• George Hardy in television interview prior to the 2019 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
• Tuskegee Airmen at Tuskegee University
• Tuskegee Airmen Archives at the University of California, Riverside Libraries.
• Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.
• Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)
• Tuskegee Airmen National Museum