John Spencer Hardy

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John Spencer Hardy, Sr.
Grave at Arlington National Cemetery
Born(1913-05-07)May 7, 1913
Logansport, DeSoto Parish, Louisiana
DiedMay 1, 2012(2012-05-01) (aged 98)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Resting placeArlington National Cemetery
Alma materCentenary College of Louisiana
OccupationChief of Operations of United States Army Air Corps in the Mediterranean Sea in World War II
Lieutenant General of the United States Air Force
Spouse(1) Virginia Elizabeth Doyle

(2) Jean Talbot Hopkins

(3) Norma Ann Hendrick (married 1993-2012, his death)
ChildrenBeth Courtney

John S. Hardy, Jr.

George Dickson Hardy

John Spencer Hardy, Sr. (May 7, 1913 – May 1, 2012), was a lieutenant general who served as chief of operations for the United States Army Air Corps in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II.

Background

Hardy was born in

Kelly Field, also in San Antonio. After serving on active duty for a year as a flying cadet with the 17th and 3rd Attack Groups, he was commissioned a second lieutenant effective March 1, 1937.[1]

World War II service

His first commissioned assignment was at

Balkans, and the Allied landings in southern France.[1]

Cold War service

During the

Naples, Italy. He subsequently served as Commandant of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, D.C. He received the Army and Air Force Distinguished Service Medals, Legion of Merit with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Belgian Croix de Guerre with Palm, and the Royal Hellenic Order of King George I.[2]

Hardy was involved in negotiations relating to the Taiwan Straits Crisis in 1958 and the renegotiation of the defense treaty with Japan in 1959. His assignments took him to many locations, including Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii and from 1960 to 1964 as the commander of Keesler Technical Training Center in Biloxi, Mississippi.[1]

Retirement years

Upon his military retirement effective August 1, 1970, Hardy resided in Shreveport, where he served on the Centenary College board and was inducted into the institution's Hall of Fame. He was a member of the board of the

Public Broadcasting.[2]

Hardy's first wife was the former Virginia Elizabeth Doyle, whom he married in her native Shreveport in 1940. Their children are

San Diego, California. After Virginia's death, General Hardy married Jean Talbot Hopkins. His third wife, whom he married in 1993, is the former Norma Ann Hendrick of Shreveport, who survived him. He had three grandchildren, Julia George Moore, Robin Virginia Hardy Moreland and Spencer Miles George Hardy, two great-grandchildren, and six step-children, James Hopkins, Janie Hopkins, Susan Meyers, Talbot Trudeau, Dr. Robert Hendrick, and Virginia Haddad.[2]

Hardy died in Baton Rouge, less than a week from what would have been his 99th birthday. Services were held in the Frost Chapel of First

Virginia.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Lieutenant General John S. Hardy". www.af.mil. Archived from the original on December 2, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  2. ^
    Baton Rouge Morning Advocate
    , May 3, 2012
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