Today is Monday, September 29, 2025
It’s a new day in paradise!
Published since 2008, !TFAM is a bi-weekly lifeline uniting readers to
ensure the legacy of Tuskegee Airmen. !TFAM provides an inside view into
the lives of Tuskegee Airmen and the people they influence.
Good day readers, last Thursday The Lonely Eagles Chapter
welcomed its newest member, Lt. Col George E. Hardy (ret) last
Thursday, June 25, 2025.
Arrangements are being made, but we do not have any details.
BIOGRAPHY
A DOCUMENTED ORIGINAL TUSKEGEE AIRMAN
Tuskegee Airmen Inc. Public Relations, P.O. Box 830060
Tuskegee, AL 36083
Lt. COL. (Ret) GEORGE HARDY
George E. Hardy was born 8 June 1925 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His initial interest in
airplanes was a result of viewing newsreel footage of
daring young men and their flying machines over
Europe during the early phase of World War II.
In March 1943, at the age of 17, he passed the written and physical
examinations for the US Army Aviation Cadet program. In July 1943 he was
called to active duty and sent to Keesler Army Air Field, Biloxi, Mississippi,
for basic training. In September 1943 he was assigned to the 320th College
Training Detachment at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.
His group was scheduled to take college-level courses, at Tuskegee Institute,
for a period of five months. This training was cut short in the beginning of
December, as his group was transferred to Tuskegee Army Air Field (TAAF)
for Aviation Cadet training, as part of Class 44-H. In September 1944 he
graduated as a single-engine pilot and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant
in the U.S. Army.
In November he was transferred to Walterboro AAF in South Carolina for
combat flying training in P-47 aircraft. This combat flying training was
completed in early February 1945, and he was shipped overseas to Italy. In
Italy, he was assigned to the 99th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group,
where he flew 21 combat missions over Germany in P-51 aircraft. Those
missions were mainly high-altitude escort missions of heavy bombers, but
many of the missions also included strafing of ground targets.
He returned from Italy in August 1945 and served at TAAF, until it closed in
the summer of 1946. In July 1946 he was transferred to Lockbourne AAF,
Ohio where he was assigned to the 99th Fighter Squadron, flying P-47
aircraft. He was discharged from active duty in November 1946.
He attended New York University, School of Engineering, in the Bronx, from
September 1947 to May 1948. He was recalled to active duty at Lockbourne
Air Force Base (LAFB), Ohio, in June 1948. He was assigned to the 301st
Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, flying P-47 aircraft. In September
1948 he was reassigned as a student in the Airborne Electronics Maintenance
Officers Course at Keesler AFB, Mississippi. The course of study covered
radar and long-range navigational equipment on fighter and bomber
aircraft. He graduated in August 1949.
In July 1949 the USAF instituted racial integration and personnel at
Lockbourne AFB were reassigned to Air Force bases worldwide. After
graduation in August 1949, he was transferred to the 19th Bomb Group (B-29
Aircraft) on the island of Guam. He was further assigned to the 28th Bomb
Squadron as a maintenance officer. His primary job was supervising about 25
airmen in maintenance of electronic equipment on the assigned aircraft. As a
pilot he was also required to fly and was assigned as a copilot on a B-29
aircrew. The Korean War started 25 June 1950, and the 19th Bomb Group
was transferred to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. He flew 45 combat missions
over Korea in the B-29 aircraft.
In March 1951 he returned to the states and was assigned to 6th Bomb Wing,
at Walker AFB in New Mexico, as a maintenance officer. In June 1951 he was
transferred to Lowry AFB, Denver, Colorado for seven months training as an
Armament Systems maintenance officer, specifically on B-36 aircraft. The B-
36 aircraft was the largest aircraft in the Air Force, capable of
intercontinental bombing missions without refueling. After the training at
Lowry he was transferred back to Walker AFB and in December 1952 he was
transferred to Carswell AFB, Ft Worth, Texas. He became part of the 42nd
Bomb Wing (B-36 aircraft) and in March 1953 the wing was transferred to
Limestone AFB, Maine. He served as a maintenance officer in the 42nd
Armament and Electronics Maintenance Squadron (AEMS), until August
1955.
In August 1955 he transferred to the United States Air Force Institute of
Technology at Wright Patterson AFB, Dayton Ohio. He entered the
undergraduate engineering program and in August 1957, received a Bachelor
of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering.
In September 1957 he was assigned to the 3rd AEMS, 3rd Bomb Wing (B- 57,
Canberra aircraft) at Johnson Air Base, Japan. He was soon assigned as
Maintenance Supervisor. The 3rd Bomb Wing areas of operations were in
Japan, Korea and Okinawa. He became jet-qualified as a pilot and in 1959 he
received the aerial rating of Command Pilot. In June 1960 he was promoted to
the grade of Major.
In November 1960 he transferred to Plattsburgh AFB, New York. He was
assigned as Squadron Commander of the 4108th AEMS, in the 4108th Air
Refueling Wing (KC–97aircraft). In November 1962 he was notified by the
Air Force Institute of Technology of his eligibility to apply for a new graduate
level systems engineering course specializing in reliability engineering. He
applied for the course and was reassigned, in January 1963, to the USAF
Institute of Technology, at Wright Patterson AFB, Dayton Ohio. In August
1964 he graduated with a Master of Science Degree in Systems Engineering –
Reliability.
In September 1964 he was assigned to the Electronic Systems Division of Air
Force Systems Command, at Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts. In 1965 he
received his promotion to the grade of Lt. Col. In August 1966 he was
assigned as Chief of Engineering and Program Manager, for the Development,
Installation and Cutover of the 490L Overseas AUTOVON (Automatic Voice
Network) Communications Switches, part of the Department of Defense first
worldwide direct dial telephone system.
At the end of 1969 he received notice of a flying assignment in Vietnam and
was provided with refresher flight training as an AC-119K Gunship Aircraft
Commander. He was assigned to the 18th Special Operations Squadron at
Phan Rang Air Base in Vietnam in April 1970. Although the squadron
headquarters was at Phan Rang Air Base, the aircraft were located at two
operating locations, one at Udorn Air Base, in Thailand, and the other at
DaNang Air Base in Vietnam. He was assigned as the Operating Location
Commander at Udorn Air Base, Thailand through August 1970. Missions
were flown at night over northern Laos searching for truck traffic from North
Vietnam. In September 1970 he was transferred to DaNang Air Base in
Vietnam as Operating Location Commander. Missions were flown at night
over central portions of Laos looking for truck traffic from North
Vietnam. He flew 70 combat missions before returning to the states in April
1971.
In May of 1971 he was assigned to the Inspector General’s (IG) office at Air
Force Systems Command, Andrews AFB in Maryland. He served in the IG’s
office until November 1971 when he retired with the rank of Lieutenant
Colonel.
His military decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor,
the Air Medal with eleven (11) Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Commendation
Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster. In 2007, President George Bush awarded
him and the surviving Airmen the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s
highest civilian award. George received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of
Public Service from Tuskegee University in 2006. He now resides in Sarasota,
Florida.
Lt. Col. George E. Hardy, Tuskegee Airman, dies at 100 : NPR
This next piece is from
October 2016 written by Craig Huntly.
Craig is a Tuskegee Airmen expert. I don’t know of anyone else, in or out
of TAI or any other organization, that had the honor and privilege to travel
with, study under, and observe a particular group of Tuskegee Airmen who
established The Harry Shepard Research Committee. That group included
George Hardy.
Attached is an article about George Hardy and a series of events while in
the UK. Craig shared it with !TFAM readers. The article is attached.
Greetings Sunnye,
At the end of the past September George Hardy traveled to the United
Kingdom so that he could be reunited with his Red Tail P-51 which he flew
some 71 years ago in Italy during WWII.
With George Hardy’s approval and blessings I’d like to share with you and
the readers of !TFAM about a unique series of event which occurred
outside of the United States recently. Unfortunately it cannot to be properly
told in one to two paragraphs.
This trip had been coordinated with Pres. Johnson but many people within
TAI may not have been aware of it. The series of event were covered in
great detail by the media in the UK.
All the best
Craig
Between 2010 and 2016, I would include this quote from Yolandea Woods…“call
the senior statesmen in your world and say thank you and if you don’t know
one…simply take a moment and pray for they walked before us.”
You still have time to make calls and pray.
Tribute to L/C George Hardy
and all the Tuskegee Airmen who have “flown West.”
By L/C Larry “Jet” Jackson, USAF Retired. Southwest Airlines,
Captain retired.
I attended Dunbar Vocational high school as a kid growing up in the
projects on the south side of Chicago. My high school teacher was Mr.
Cornelius Coffey, National Aviation Hall of Fame class of 2023. He and his
wife Willa Brown (Hall of Fame class 2022) trained many of the pilots in the
Chicago area before they went on to train in Tuskegee, Alabama. Mr.
Coffey used to tell me endless stories about their trainees. Yes, I was
aware of the exploits of the Tuskegee Airmen but never met any of them
until 1991. In February 1991 I had the honor of flying Tuskegee Airmen
Lincoln Ragsdale in the back seat of an F-15. After the flight Mr. Ragsdale
encouraged me to attend the Tuskegee Armen/OBAP convention in Detroit
in August of 1991. And that I did. What an amazing experience. That year
and for a number of years to follow I attended several conventions at which
Lincoln Ragsdale introduced me to all his comrades. Lincoln knew
everybody. I was like a kid in a candy store. I went around shagging
autographs from all these famous men and women. One year I was
introduced to L/C Hardy. I asked him to sign my model P-51 “Meatball Rap”
– Capt. Charles Lang’s airplane. He graciously did, and like most of the
Airmen was eager to tell me his story.
I was totally mesmerized. L/C Hardy entered flight training as a teenager
and had flown twenty-one combat missions in the P-51 before his 20th
birthday. Young pilot and fighting for a country he loved, but did not love
him? He persevered! Over the years I got to hear his story over and over
again as he was part of trio of Tuskegee Airmen that included B/G Charles
McGee and L/C Bob Ashby that visited Southwest Airlines headquarters in
Dallas annually as part of the Continuing the Legacy in Aviation program.
This was a powerful program that allowed young people from all over the
country to meet these exceptional gentlemen and to be exposed to their
legacy. Southwest Airlines was in a very direct way empowering these
young people to become torch bearers for the Tuskegee Airmen legacy.
And many are doing just that today.
I remember distinctly one question L/C Hardy fielded as a panel member at
Southwest Airlines HQ with thirty students looking on. An employee asked
him what gave him the strength to perform his job in an integrated Air Force
in the face of mistreatment. He answered in the typical George Hardy way
“I loved flying, and I had a job to do – to heck with the nonsense.” And
further in addressing the students he said “let this be a lesson to you, just
do your job to the best of your ability and the rest will fall in place.
I encourage our TAI members and supporters to continue to tell the
Tuskegee Airmen story. Let us ensure their legacy does not end when they
pass on. RIP L/C Hardy.
That’s all for now.
love you madly!
L. Sunnye Simpson
Editor and publisher
!TFAM is a publication created by L. Sunnye Simpson and is not affiliated,
in anyway, with Tuskegee Airmen Inc. Any mention of Tuskegee Airmen
Inc. is done so at the discretion of the editor.