Retired Air Force Lt. Col. George Hardy, who died this week at 100, was one of the last Tuskegee Airmen to see combat overseas. From flying a P-51 Mustang escorting bombers over Europe to piloting AC-119 gunships in Vietnam, his career spanned three wars and mirrored both the Air Force’s evolution and America’s slow progress from segregation to integration.
From Philadelphia to Europe
Hardy was born in Philadelphia in 1925, the second of seven children in a working-class family. He joined the Army Air Corps at 17, entering the Tuskegee program in Alabama, where Black aviation cadets trained apart from their white counterparts. In September 1944, he earned his wings and was commissioned as an officer with the 99th Fighter Squadron, part of the famed 332nd Fighter Group—the “Red Tails.”
In the closing months of World War II, Hardy flew 21 combat missions in Europe, mostly as a bomber escort in the P-51 Mustang. His aircraft bore the name “Tall in the Saddle.” At just 19, he was one of the youngest fighter pilots in the group. Escort missions meant holding tight formations with bombers, ready to intercept German fighters. On other sorties, Hardy and his fellow Red Tails swooped down for strafing runs on trains, convoys, and enemy airfields—missions that required skill and exposed them to deadly ground fire.
Looking back years later, Hardy reflected on the significance of those opportunities: “We’re Afro American, racial segregation was really rigid … Then, the Navy would only take you if you were a mess attendant …” he recalled, showing how improbable it seemed at the time for Black airmen to be trusted with fighters.
A New War, A New Aircraft
Hardy left active service after the war but was recalled in 1948 as Cold War tensions grew. When the Korean War broke out, he transitioned to the massive B-29 bomber, flying 45 missions over the peninsula.
A senior officer, Lt. Col. Fred W. Miller, once removed Hardy from a bombing mission because he doubted the abilities of a Black pilot. That incident spared Hardy’s life as that B-29 never returned to base.
Yet Hardy’s skill in the cockpit and his work as a maintenance and electronics officer—responsible for the bomber’s complex gun turrets and systems—eventually won Miller over. The officer later admitted Hardy was among the finest officers under his command.
The Vietnam War
Two decades after his first combat mission, Hardy found himself in another war. This time he flew the AC-119K gunship, a heavily armed aircraft built for interdiction and close air support. With the 18th Special Operations Squadron, Hardy operated from Udorn, Thailand, and Da Nang, Vietnam, flying 70 combat missions during the Vietnam War.
Most of these sorties took place at night, hunting North Vietnamese truck convoys moving through Laos and central Cambodia. Using onboard sensors and side-firing cannons, Hardy and his crew tried to choke off the enemy’s supply routes under constant threat from antiaircraft fire below. It was a far cry from the high-altitude escorts of Europe or the long-range bombing of Korea, but it highlighted his ability to master entirely new forms of aerial warfare as technology and missions evolved.
Scholar, Engineer, and Advocate
Hardy’s service was not confined to the cockpit. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and later a master’s degree in systems engineering. After retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1971, he spent nearly two decades as a project manager in the civilian sector.
But perhaps his most enduring role came after his military and civilian careers were over. Hardy became a tireless advocate for preserving the history of the Tuskegee Airmen. He traveled the country speaking to schools, veterans’ groups, and civic organizations, making sure that the story of the “Red Tails” was not forgotten. In 2007, he and his fellow Tuskegee Airmen received the Congressional Gold Medal, recognition long overdue.
George Hardy’s Legacy
Hardy’s story is a reflection of the United States itself. In World War II, he fought for a country that denied him basic equality. In Korea, he helped prove that Black officers belonged in the cockpit and in command. By Vietnam, integration was no longer a question—his skill and leadership were expected and relied upon.
He lived long enough to see the Air Force he joined as a segregated experiment transform into one of the most diverse branches of the U.S. military. He also lived long enough to see schoolchildren across America learn about the Tuskegee Airmen as pioneers in military aviation.
Throughout his career, George Hardy earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, multiple Air Medals and two Presidential Unit Citations. He was one of the youngest pilots to fly combat missions with the Red Tails in World War II and, at the time of his passing, among the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen to have seen overseas combat.
