TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A special guest was on the campus of Florida A&M University on Thursday.
The youngest living member of the Tuskegee Airmen talked about the early days of racial integration in the U.S. military.
Lieutenant Colonel George Hardy was the guest of honor at a panel discussion this morning and a private luncheon in the afternoon.
FAMU's Department of Military and Veteran Affairs hosted the 93-year-old, who shared lessons he learned while serving with the all-African-American air units.
He said the Tuskegee Airmen helped end segregation in the armed forces, but even after it was made official in 1948, he said there was still resistance.
"An officer wouldn't speak to me, he was my commander, because he didn't go for racial integration. Then, the base where they wouldn't let me into base housing, because it was off base and they went with the local things of 'no blacks and whites.' So, the whole base housing for officers was off-limits to me," said Hardy.
Lieutenant Colonel Hardy said he complained about the racial injustice, and was transferred to an air force base in Maine in 1953.
He called it "the end of an era," and from that point, he didn't recall any more issues with race.
