World War II hero, one of last Tuskegee Airmen, dies at Sarasota home

World War II hero Lt. Col. George Hardy, the youngest of the Tuskegee Airmen pilots who fought during the war and helped pave the way for the integration of the armed forces, has died at his Sarasota home at age 100 .

Tuskegee Airmen, Incorporated, noted in a Sept. 26 social media post that Hardy was just 19 when he completed his first mission over Europe , stationed at Ramitelli Air Field in Italy. He would go on to fly 21 missions there before serving again in the Korean War and later in Vietnam.