NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1973 SESSION

RESOLUTION 88

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 866

A JOINT RESOLUTION HONORING MAJOR WILLIAM HENRY HARDY, UNITED STATES ARMY, UPON HIS RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES FROM NORTH VIETNAM WHERE HE WAS HELD AS A PRISONER OF WAR FOR ALMOST SIX YEARS.

Whereas, Major William Henry Hardy, son of Mrs. Delphia Hardy, attended W. H. Robinson Union School in Winterville, North Carolina, and graduated second in a class of twenty-four students in 1950; and

Whereas, Major William Henry Hardy immediately entered Agricultural and Technical College in the Fall of 1950, where he was an honor student each semester with a major in Agriculture; and

Whereas, Major William Henry Hardy, while at Agricultural and Technical College became a member of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity and the Scaba Blade, which is an R.O.T.C. Fraternity; and

Whereas, Major William Henry Hardy graduated from Agricultural and Technical College in 1954 as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army; and

Whereas, Major William Henry Hardy upon graduation from Agricultural and Technical College, began his extensive military career where he obtained his basic training expertise at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and spent three years stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, after which he spent two years as an instructor at an Army Service School at Fort Devens, Massachusetts; and

Whereas, Major William Henry Hardy has served eleven years overseas with three years in the cold terrain of Germany, one year in Korea, one year on the coast of Turkey and almost six years in the monsoon jungles as a prisoner of Vietnam; and

Whereas, Major William Henry Hardy was captured on June 30, 1967, when he and a company under his command were abducted in an enemy ambush on a road leading from Saigon, South Vietnam, and for five and three-fourths years of his captivity was placed in solitary confinement unable to communicate with anyone; and

Whereas, as a result of the recently signed peace agreement, Major William Henry Hardy was released and has returned to the United States and North Carolina;

Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:

Section 1.  That the General Assembly of the Great State of North Carolina does at this time wish to pay tribute to a brave North Carolinian, Major William Henry Hardy, and his family for making such a great sacrifice in the interest of freedom.

Sec. 2.  That this resolution shall become a part of the permanent records of the 1973 Session of the General Assembly of North Carolina and copies shall be duly certified by the Secretary of State and forwarded to Major William Henry Hardy, his wife, Theola Johnson Hardy, and his mother, Mrs. Delphia Hardy, of Winterville, North Carolina.

Sec. 3.  This resolution shall become effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 14th day of May, 1973.