# George Hardy (Tuskegee Airman)

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 missions 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

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

* 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)
South Phila High School Cultural Hall of Fame

## 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.
By 2019, Hardy, along with 1949 Top Gun winners James H. Harvey, III, and Harry T. Stewart, Jr., and Dr. Eugene J. Richardson, Jr. were 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.
With the death of Harry Stewart Jr. in February 2025, Hardy is now the last surviving member of the original 355 Tuskegee Airmen who served in World War II; James H. Harvey, III, who did not serve in combat during World War II but later served in combat missions in the Korean War, lives as well, as does Lt. Eugene J. Robertson, who also did not serve in World War II combat missions.