SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - George Hardy, the youngest aviator to fly with the famed Tuskegee Airman in World War II, died Sept. 25 at his Sarasota home. He was 100 years old.

Hardy enlisted in the segregated U.S. Army Air Corps at 17. At 19, he was deployed overseas with the 99th Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group.

Hardy flew 21 combat missions in P-51 Mustangs with their distinctive red tails, often escorting heavy bombers over Europe, receiving the nickname “Red Tails” by their Allied counterparts.

The German Luftwaffe also had a name for them: “Schwarze Vogelmenschen,” translated to “Black Birdman,” because of their natural skills in the air, an article on a U.S. Air Force website said.

Recalled to service after the war, Hardy flew B-29s in the Korean War, completing 45 comb

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