Airmen Flew High

Service: Veteran Stories of Hunger and War

Lt. Colonel George Hardy wanted to be an engineer. Not a cook. But at the start of World War 2, African Americans were only given mess attendant positions in the Navy – the branch he wanted to join. And so, George joined the U.S. Army Air Corps’ prestigious Tuskegee Airmen fighter group instead. Facing segregation at home and abroad, his food stories are weighted with uncomfortable silences and tough self-love. Follow as George travels from Philly to the southern states, over to Italy and back home again, fighting a Double Victory campaign that would change the course of American history forever.

Find archival newspaper articles, photos of George, an episode transcript, and more at www.ServicePodcast.org and on our Instagram and Facebook, where you can also share your stories and leave messages for all of the veterans you hear on Service.

Thank you to Joe Faust of Tuskegee Airmen Inc. for connecting us with George for this episode. We encourage you to learn more at www.TuskegeeAirmen.org, and on Facebook and Instagram. And thank you to Stephen Satterfield of iHeartRadio’s Point of Origin podcast for lending his voice to this episode - subscribe to Point of Origin on Apple podcasts, the iHeartRadio app and

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