Moses Hardy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Moses Hardy
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Moses Hardy at age 110 or 111
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| Born | January 6, 1894 Aberdeen, Mississippi, United States |
| Died | December 7, 2006 (aged 112 years, 335 days) Aberdeen, Mississippi, United States |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service/ |
 United States Army |
| Years of service | July 1918–July 1919 |
| Unit | 805th Pioneer Infantry |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
| Awards | Victory Medal Occupational Medal Légion d'honneur |
Moses Hardy (January 6, 1894 – December 7, 2006) was an amazing American veteran. He lived to be 112 years old! He was the very last black veteran who fought in World War I. He was also one of the last American veterans from that war.
Moses Hardy was born in 1894. His parents had been enslaved people before he was born. He lived a life focused on religion and farming. In July 1918, he decided to join the army and serve overseas in World War I.
During that time, there were unfair rules called Jim Crow laws. These laws meant that African Americans were kept separate from white people. So, Moses Hardy served in a special unit called the 805th Pioneer Infantry. This unit did many support jobs and manual labor tasks. Moses Hardy worked as a scout, bringing supplies to soldiers on the front lines.
Even though he saw combat, he was never badly hurt. He didn't often talk about the fighting itself. Instead, he liked to share stories about the food, the brave soldiers, and the weather in France.
After the war, Moses Hardy had many different jobs. He drove a school bus, worked as a farmer, and was a church leader called a deacon. He even sold cosmetics (makeup and beauty products) well past his 100th birthday!
He received several important awards for his service. These included the Victory Medal and the French Légion d'honneur. In 1999, the Mississippi government honored him as an outstanding citizen. When he passed away at 112, he was known as one of the oldest combat veterans ever. He was also the oldest man ever recorded in Mississippi.
Moses Hardy's Early Life
Moses Hardy was born in Aberdeen, Mississippi, in 1894. His parents, Morris and Nancy Hardy, had been enslaved. After the American Civil War, they bought a large piece of land in Mississippi. They bought 265 acres from a Chickasaw Native American for just one dollar.
The Hardy family was very religious. Moses often said that his favorite Bible passage was from Exodus 20:12. This passage tells people to honor their parents, and he tried to live by that rule. Moses Hardy married a woman named Fannie Marshall. Together, they had eight children.
Serving in World War I
Moses Hardy served in France from July 1918 to July 1919. He was in combat for 39 days. Because of the unfair rules at the time, African American soldiers served in separate units. Moses Hardy was part of the 805th Pioneer Infantry. White officers led this unit.
The main job of his unit was to help engineer regiments. They did things like unloading cargo from ships. They also performed other manual labor tasks, such as cooking and organizing burials for fallen soldiers. Hardy's unit was armed only with rifles, not the more powerful machine guns. After the war ended, his division was responsible for cleaning up the battlefields and removing the dead.
Hardy told his family he was "scared to death" when he first arrived overseas. But he believed the soldiers were given something to make them brave, which he called "brave pills." After a short time in the military, he said he wasn't afraid of anything anymore. Even in the middle of a battle, he felt "wound up" but never truly frightened.
He remembered many strange things about food and drink. He got used to drinking green water from his canteen. He also ate hardtacks, which are hard biscuits. He found them surprisingly filling. Often, there was little else to eat besides small tins of ham or chicken. Sometimes, they had coffee to drink or pudding and pie for dessert. Hardy also saw many of his friends killed in action. He relied on his faith in God to help him through these tough times.
Hardy often worked as a scout. He would help bring supplies to the soldiers on the front line. On September 25, 1918, he was near the Meuse River during a mustard gas attack. At some point during the war, he hurt his knee. Hardy rarely talked about the actual fighting. He preferred to talk about France's weather when people asked about his experiences overseas.
Life After the War
Over the years, Moses Hardy received several important awards. He got the Victory Medal. He also received the Occupational Medal from the Mississippi Army National Guard. He finally received an honorable discharge, which he hadn't gotten when he first left the army. And he was awarded the French Légion d'honneur.
In 1999, when he was 105 years old, the Mississippi government officially recognized him. They called him an outstanding citizen of Mississippi. At that time, he was known as the oldest living World War I veteran. In 2006, he was interviewed for a radio project about the last World War I veterans. His son, Haywood Hardy, who was 80 at the time, shared some of his father's stories.
Moses Hardy did not fight in World War II. Instead, he drove a school bus, farmed, and sold special lotions and wigs for "Lucky Heart" cosmetics. He kept selling door-to-door for several years after he turned 100. When his children hid his car keys, he even started selling by phone! His youngest child, Jean Dukes, was born in the late 1940s.
He also served as a deacon and Sunday School superintendent at Mount Olive Church for over 75 years. His son said that until about four years before he died, his father was healthy enough to drive his car into town every day. People believed Moses Hardy lived so long because of his daily meal. It included cabbage, corn bread, buttermilk, potatoes, and Dr Pepper. He also never drank alcohol or smoked. Until a few years before his death, it was said that Hardy had never been seriously ill. He also claimed he never took medicine because it made him sick.
Moses Hardy lived on his own until 2004. Then, his legs became weak, and he found it hard to walk. He moved into a care home. Even there, he could feed himself and enjoyed watching The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Price is Right.
When he passed away, Moses Hardy was the oldest United States combat veteran ever. He was also the oldest man ever recorded in Mississippi. He lived longer than at least three of his eight children. He had many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was also ranked as the sixth-oldest living person in the world whose age was officially confirmed. He was the second-oldest man and World War I veteran, and the last African American one. Even though he had some memory problems in his later years, he was clear-minded in his final days. His death was due to natural causes.
See also
