Last Surviving Tuskegee Airman George E. Hardy Passes Away At 100
on Sep 30, 2025
WWII Hero & Tuskegee Airman George E. Hardy Dies At 100
Lt. Col. George E. Hardy, one of the last remaining Tuskegee Airmen who flew combat missions during World War II, died at the age of 100 on Thursday (September 25).
Hardy completed 21 combat missions in WWII and went on to serve in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He graduated from flight training in 1944 and, at just 19 years old, became the youngest of the legendary “Red Tails,” the first Black military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps.
“Colonel Hardy was an amazing man. He was a patriot. He loved his family. He loved his community. He loved our organization,” Leon Butler Jr., national president of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., told NPR. “He worked very hard. He worked tirelessly to preserve the legacy, not for himself, but for those that he served with, and he cared about the families of other original Tuskegee Airmen.”
Hardy’s Patriotic Life Of Service
During World War II, Hardy served with the 332nd Fighter Group at Ramitelli Air Base in Italy and was assigned to the 99th Fighter Squadron. According to the U.S. Air Force, he completed 21 combat missions across Europe.
Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. noted that Hardy was the youngest of the famed Red Tail fighter pilots. He left Italy as a first lieutenant following the end of the war in Europe in 1945 and returned to Tuskegee Army Air Field, where he served as a supervising pilot until the base closed in 1946.
Hardy received numerous honors for his military service, including the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor, the Air Force Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Air Medal with 11 Oak Leaf Clusters.
In 2007, he and his fellow Tuskegee Airmen were collectively awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of their groundbreaking service and enduring legacy.
Who Were The Tuskegee Airmen?
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first Black military pilots and support personnel in the United States Army Air Forcesduring World War II. They trained at the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Tuskegee, Alabama, and served at a time when the U.S. military remained racially segregated.
The group of nearly 14,000 men and women included not only fighter and bomber pilots, but also navigators, mechanics, instructors, crew chiefs, nurses, and other support staff.
The pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group became known as the “Red Tails” because they painted the tails of their aircraft red. They flew over 15,000 missions and earned more than 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, among many other military honors.
