Welcome home, Sergeant Hardy. It's been a long time, but now you can rest in peace.
Posted on 02/19/2025 8:12:39 AM PST by Ciaphas Cain
SGT David Eugene Hardy was born on Nov 1, 1928 and died on Feb 28, 1951 as a POW at Camp 5, Pyoktong, North Korea. Under Operation Glory his remains were exchanged in 1954. The Central Identification Unit at Kokura, Japan was unable to associate remains with Sargent Hardy and the remains were sent to Honolulu for burial as Unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1956. In 2019 his remains were disinterred and sent to Hickam AFB for analysis. SGT David E. Hardy was ultimately identified on 27 September 2024.
David's father and mother were the late John and Mary Hardy. David's brothers were the late James (died June 14, 1944 Normandy France), Willard, George and baby Hubert. James, Willard and George all served during WWII. David's sisters were the late Cleria, Lessie, Mary Sue (Sudy), and Bobbye. David is survived by nieces, nephews and children of his cousins.
Military Services for David will be held on March 8, 2025 at Citty Funeral Home, 308 Lindsey Street, Reidsville North Carolina. Visitation will begin at 10:00 am and the service will begin at 11:00 am. The interment with full military honors will follow at Danview Cemetery in Eden, North Carolina.
Veterans who are able are welcome to attend the services. We honor all veterans, first responders, and active military. Thank you for your service.
The family would like to acknowledge the dedication of the United States Army Repatriation Division for their work to identify fallen soldiers and return them home to their families. It is work of the highest calling.
In lieu of flowers, donations to Tunnels to Towers 2361 Hylan Boulevard Staten Island, NY 10306 in David's memory are appreciated.
Citty Funeral Home is assisting the Hardy family.
Welcome home, Sergeant Hardy. It's been a long time, but now you can rest in peace.
Not many 22 year olds look like that today.
Growing up during the Depression caused folks to mature quickly.
RIP Sergeant Hardy.
Fascinating story, Thank you for posting it.
RIP
God bless you.
There are “before and after” photos around the Internet that show what young men looked like before enlistment, and what they looked like at war’s end. The differences are astonishing. They look like they’ve aged twenty years.
Did you ever watch Peter Jackson's documentary with sound and re-colorization of films from WWI - "They Shall Not Grow Old"
There was something about the faces and demeanor of the soldiers, both Allied and German, in that film. They were "mature" and singular in purpose, but there was also a kind of innocence and simplicity on their faces. Imagine growing up in a world with no media whatsoever, where one's entire life was one's home town, family, church, and one's simple work to live and eat.
Imagine growing up in a world with no media whatsoever, where one’s entire life was one’s home town, family, church, and one’s simple work to live and eat.
And so boring, that many were excited to go and fight, it was thought of as a great adventure and a great way to break the monotony.
Age 22?
Musta been the mRNA vax.
How true. People matured much faster in that era, both physically and emotionally, probably due to hard work, being outdoors more and likely many other factors.
Peter Jackson’s attention to detail in that film defies ready belief. At one point it depicts an officer reading something to the soldiers. Jackson and his team found the exact document from that day that was being read, and got a voice actor to perform the lines as they were delivered to the assembled troops.
They lived in a patriarchal nation where maleness was seen throughout the day and males were expected to join that maleness as they grew and lived, today young males are raised by women and in a femininized culture and have little to no male life in childhood or in their teens and nothing to grow into except a neutering atmosphere that orders and trains them to restrain their maleness and drive.
They Shall Not Grow Old
They shall not grow old
As we who are left grow old
Age shall not weary them
Nor the years condemn
From the going down of the sun
And in the morning
We shall remember them
I know that6 poem from all the ANZAC Day ceremonies I attended for years where it was recited..
ANZAC Day April 25, from Gallipoli, 1915
ANZAC = Australia New Zealand Army Corp
AND, from what I have read, the voice actor would do the accent of the town/region of that regiment, even attempting to remove modern changes, and mimmic what what would have been the accent in 1914.
Just another in a long line of American heroes!
My first thought, too!
Regards,
and looked at the soldier's unit patch and hired the voice actor from the same region so the reader's accent would be correct. Amazing attention to detail!
I grew up in the 50s and 60s. I’ve thought so often recently that most of our dads were ww2 and/or Korea veterans.
I never gave it a thought back then. In the factories, shops, schools,coaching our sports... They were just our dads,right?
Now at age 74, I finally realize they were more than just our dads. They were heros for their military service and bigger heros for being dads who carried on as best they could with their youth interrupted.
May he rest in glory, and his brothers who served.
No tats, earrings or piercings, or weird hair/devil beard..
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