This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities; this finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.
Size | 2.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 2,000 items) |
Abstract | Osborne Bennett Hardison (1892-1959), native of Wadesboro, N.C., was a career United States naval officer, retiring as vice-admiral. The collection includes official and service-related personal letters and papers. The bulk of the material relates to World War II, when Hardison was commander of the aircraft carrier "Enterprise" in the Pacific, 1942-1943, and later chief of naval aviation training in the United States. |
Creator | Hardison, Osborne Bennett, 1892-1959. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: SHC Staff
Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007
Updated by: Kate Stratton and Jodi Berkowitz, July 2009
This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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.
Back to TopThe collection includes official and service-related personal letters and papers of Osborne Bennett Hardison. The bulk of the material relates to World War II, when Hardison was commander of the aircraft carrier "Enterprise" in the Pacific, 1942-1943, and later chief of naval aviation training in the United States. The military correspondence and papers concern naval operations and navigational training, naval problems, fleet exercises and maneuvers, the naval air force, and accidents and mishaps involving naval aircraft. There are also reports and other items related to the bombing of the "Enterprise" at the Battle of Santa Cruz in the Solomon Islands. Topics discussed in Hardison's personal correspondence include his encounters with native populations while stationed in various locales, reactions to the administration of Harry S. Truman and its proposed reorganization of military air forces, Hardison's awards and achievements, and the educational aspirations and progress of his son, O. B. Hardison Junior.
Back to TopFolder 1a |
Original finding aid |
Folder 1 |
1912-1914 |
Folder 2 |
1920-1921 |
Folder 3 |
1922-1925 |
Folder 4 |
1926-1928 |
Folder 5 |
1929-1931 |
Folder 6 |
1932-1933 |
Folder 7 |
1934-1937 |
Folder 8 |
1938 |
Folder 9 |
1939 |
Folder 10 |
1941 |
Folder 11-14
Folder 11Folder 12Folder 13Folder 14 |
1942 |
Folder 15-24
Folder 15Folder 16Folder 17Folder 18Folder 19Folder 20Folder 21Folder 22Folder 23Folder 24 |
1943 |
Folder 25-34
Folder 25Folder 26Folder 27Folder 28Folder 29Folder 30Folder 31Folder 32Folder 33Folder 34 |
1944 |
Folder 35-43
Folder 35Folder 36Folder 37Folder 38Folder 39Folder 40Folder 41Folder 42Folder 43 |
1945 |
Folder 44-49
Folder 44Folder 45Folder 46Folder 47Folder 48Folder 49 |
1946 |
Folder 50-51
Folder 50Folder 51 |
1947 |
Folder 52-54
Folder 52Folder 53Folder 54 |
1948 |
Folder 55-56
Folder 55Folder 56 |
1949 |
Folder 57-62
Folder 57Folder 58Folder 59Folder 60Folder 61Folder 62 |
1950 |
Folder 63-64
Folder 63Folder 64 |
1951 |
Folder 65 |
1952 |
Folder 66 |
1953-1954 |
Folder 67-68
Folder 67Folder 68 |
Undated |