Hardy, Marshall B., Jr. (1918-2010) Added Papers, 1938-1978

Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator: Marshall B. Hardy, Jr., (1918-2010)

Title: Added Papers, 1938-1978

Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Curator of Special Collections.

Size of Collection: 0.33 Cubic Feet

Location Number: Mss./A/H268a

Scope and Content Note

The Marshall B. Hardy, Jr. Added Papers consist of Lieutenant Colonel Hardy’s personal copy of his military 201 file, or military personnel file, a folder of documents maintained by the military for each service member. The 201 file is a record of military service and contains documents that are important for proving military service (such as orders, promotions, evaluations, transcripts, awards, etc.). Service members are requested to maintain a complete 201 file in case of the lost of all or a portion of the official version.  This is an excellent example of a personal 201 file spanning an almost 40-year military career.

Hardy’s military personnel file covers his military career from his honorable discharge from the National Guard in Kentucky (dated 24 February 1938, while he was attending the Virginia Military Institute) through his official notice of retirement from the United States Army Reserves (dated 21 July 1978).  The file documents Hardy’s military activity while on reserve duty, in training, and on active duty through: orders; certificates of training and performance; applications, reassignments, appointments and promotions; and qualification and physical condition records.  Some records, notably qualification records (folder 6) also detail Hardy’s education and career outside of the military.  The majority of Hardy’s military career takes place in Kentucky, at Fort Knox and Bowman Field, although he served in northern Africa and Italy during World War II and was briefly stationed at or trained in other locations throughout the United States.  

Researchers should be aware that much of the documentation in the file uses military acronyms and abbreviations, which may pose difficulties for deciphering specific locations and duties carried out by Lt. Col. Hardy.

For a more personal documentation of Hardy’s service, particularly during World War II, see the Marshall B. Hardy, Jr. Papers, 1939-1984 (Mss. A/H268).

Biographical Note

Marshall Burwell Hardy, Jr. was born 28 September 1918 in Louisville, Kentucky, to Marshall B. Hardy and Amanda Fitch Hardy, of Flemingsburg, Kentucky.  In 1936 he graduated cum laude with a specialty in Math from the Louisville Male High School, where he was an R.O.T.C. Captain.  He completed his higher education at the Virginia Military Institute, graduating with distinction in 1940 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering.

Hardy was commissioned a second lieutenant of field artillery in the reserves after his VMI graduation in May 1940.  While awaiting assignment, he was employed by the Construction Division of E. I. DuPont de Nemours as Chief Expediter in Southeastern United States for the Charlestown Ordnance project.  In December 1940, he entered the United States Army active service, assigned to the First Armored Division.  During World War II, he served in campaigns in North Africa and Italy.  At the end of 1944, Hardy was assigned to the Armored School at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and was an instructor there throughout 1945.

After his service in World War II, Hardy studied law, receiving his LL.B. from the University of Virginia in 1948. He then entered his father’s firm of Hardy and Logan, from which he retired in 1982.

Hardy continued his military service after World War II, serving with the 100th Division.  He held both staff and command positions in the U. S. Army Reserve.  He retired as a lieutenant colonel from command of the 100th training Division in 1978.

Hardy was a trustee of the Patton Museum Development Fund at Ft. Knox for 30 years, served on several committees of the Louisville Bar Association (of which he was a member), and was a lifelong active member of Calvary Episcopal Church.  Hardy was also a member of the Kentucky Bar Association, 1st Armored Division Association, Military Order of World Wars, American Legion (Post 15), Reserve Officers Association, Society of the Colonial Wars, Hereditary Descendents of Colonial Governors, and the Louisville Country Club.

Hardy married Whitney Knowles in 1948, and they had three sons, Marshall III, Henry and Tabb, and three daughters Whitney, Anne, and Katherine.  Hardy passed away on 2 November 2010 in Louisville, Kentucky.

–Taken from the obituary of Marshall Burwell Hardy Jr. published in the Louisville Courier-Journal 3 November 2010.

Folder List

Within each file, materials are generally in chronological order (with the exception of folder 2, which is in reverse chronological order) and have been kept in the groupings maintained by Lt. Col. Hardy.

Folder 1: Pre-World War II Materials, 1938-1941

Folder 2: World War II 201 File, 1940-1945

Folder 3: World War II Additional Files, 1940-1946

Folder 4: Post World War II File, Part A: 1947-1954

Folder 5: Post World War II File, Part B, 1955-1978

Folder 6: Qualification and Retirement Point Records, circa 1940s-1960s

Subject Headings

Armored Force School (U.S.)

Armored School (U.S.)

Bowman Field (Ky.)

Courts-martial and courts of inquiry

Fort Knox (Ky.)

Kentucky. National Guard.

Medical records

Military education – United States

Military orders

Military retirements

United States. Army – Appointments and retirements

United States. Army – Military life

United States. Army – Promotions

United States. Army Reserve.

United States. Army Reserve. Division (Institutional Training), 100th

United States – Armed Forces – Pay, allowances, etc.

United States – Armed Forces – Reserves 

U.S. Army Command and General Staff College

Virginia Military Institute. Dept. of Civil Engineering

Vision

World War, 1939-1945 – Artillery operations, American