Hardison, Osborne Bennett, 1892-1959

Osborne Bennett Hardison (1892-1959), native of Wadesboro, N.C., was a career U.S. naval officer, retiring as vice-admiral.

Osborne Bennett Hardison (1892-1959), native of Wadesboro, N.C., was a career United States naval officer, retiring as vice-admiral. Hardison was the son of William Cameron Hardison and Harriett Eleanor Bennett Hardison. He was educated at the University of North Carolina and the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md. During World War II he commanded the aircraft carrier Enterprise in the Pacific, 1942-1943, and received a presidential citation and the Navy Cross for his participation in the Battle of Santa Cruz in the Solomon Islands. In 1944 he returned to the United States to serve as chief of Naval Air Primary Training, based at Fairfax Airport, Kansas City, Kan., and at the Naval Air Station at Glenview, Ill. After the war, Hardison held various positions including Commander, Aircraft, Philippine Sea Frontier, 1945-1946; Commander, Carrier Division Five, 1946; Commander, Seventh Fleet, 1946-1947; Chief of Pan American Affairs and United States Naval Missions, Navy Department, Washington, D.C., 1947-1950; Commander, Naval Forces, Marianas, 1950-1951; and Commander, Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Fla., 1951-1953.

Hardison was married to Ruth Morgan of Washington, D.C. They had two children, Osborne Bennett Junior and William Gerry Morgan Hardison.