Hugh W. Hardy
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Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Hugh W. Hardy (December 10, 1924 – April 3, 2003) was a
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
Reserves major general and a geoscientist. Hardy served with the Marine Corps Reserves for 40 years. In his civilian career as a geoscientist, he had a 34-year career with
Exxon ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...
which included pioneering research in well-logging and 3D
seismic exploration Reflection seismology (or seismic reflection) is a method of exploration geophysics that uses the principles of seismology to estimate the properties of the Earth's subsurface from reflected seismic waves. The method requires a controlled seismi ...
.


Early years

Hugh Hardy was born on December 10, 1924, in Shattuck, Oklahoma.Order 1650.8, Marine Forces Reserve, 1998. He graduated in 1942 from Capitol Hill High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He then attended the Georgia School of Technology from 1943 to 1944, majoring in engineering. He graduated in 1947 from the University of Oklahoma with a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree in Geological Engineering.


Marine Corps career

Hardy enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves on December 2, 1942. He attend officer training at Georgia School of Technology (1943–1944) and recruit training at
Parris Island Parris is both a given name and surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Parris Afton Bonds, American novelist * Parris Campbell (born 1997), American football player * Parris Duffus (born 1970), retired American ice hockey go ...
, South Carolina (1945). He was commissioned a reserve second lieutenant upon completion of Platoon Commander's School. He was released to inactive duty in 1945 and returned to Oklahoma to complete his college education. He was subsequently employed by Humble Oil/Exxon. With the onset of the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, Hardy was called to active duty in August 1950 with Company B, 14th Infantry Battalion, USMCR in Galveston, Texas. In September 1950, he reported to Quantico, Virginia to attend the 1st Special Basic Course. He served with the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune from January 1951 to March 1952. He was released back to inactive duty in 1952. He served in Marine reserve units in Wichita Falls, Texas; Houston, Texas; London, England; Camp Pendleton, California; Quantico, Virginia; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; and in the Mediterranean with the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, attached to the United States Navy's 6th fleet. He had command responsibilities and progressed in rank from 2nd lieutenant to brigadier general. In 1974, he was promoted to the rank of major general. In 1980, he returned to active duty as Commanding General, Marine Corps Base,
Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by Oc ...
, California (the largest Marine Corps base, with over 40,000 personnel) becoming the first Reserve general to command an active Marine Corps facility. Hardy retired from the Marine Corps on 1 December 1982.


Promotion record

Hardy's Marine Corps promotions are as follows: *
First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...
— 10 November 1948 *
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
— 25 June 1952 *
Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
— 12 July 1956 *
Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
— 1 July 1964 *
Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
— 1 May 1969 *
Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
— May 1973 *
Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
— 1 May 1974


Decorations

Major General Hardy has been awarded:


Geoscientist

Hardy graduated from the
University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...
in 1947 with bachelor of science degree in geological engineering. Upon graduation, he went to work for Humble Oil (later Exxon) on an offshore seismic crew. In his 34-year career with Exxon, Hardy worked at Humble Oil, Esso Production Research (EPR), Esso Exploration, Exxon Company International, corporate Public Affairs, and Exxon Company USA. His work encompasses a vast breadth of geoscience, administrative, and management areas, including seismic interpretation, seismic data processing, geophysical research, well-logging, computing coordination, emergency preparedness, government relations, and chief scientist. His research work at while at EPR included pioneering work on in well-logging formation/velocity/porosity relationships and in the 3D seismic exploration method. After retirement from Exxon, he joined GeoQuest in 1981; and, in 1983, he was named president of GeoQuest International. In 1986, he resigned his position as president of
GeoQuest GeoQuest Systems was a company offering geology software, systems integration, and information-management services and software to the oil and gas industry from 1984& to 2001). History The company was founded in 1984. Through its Seismograph Se ...
's Services Division. He then established a private petroleum exploration consulting firm, Interpretation Consultants, Inc.


Honors

The Marine Reserves award — the General Hugh W. Hardy Superlative Performance Award — was established in 1998 as an annual award to be presented to the most outstanding Reserve Force Level Asset Unit.


See also


Notes


References

:''This article incorporates text/images published by the United States Marine Corps, which is in the public domain.'' * * Includes biographical sketch of MajGen Hardy. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hardy, Hugh W. 1924 births 2003 deaths American geophysicists American seismologists Georgia Tech alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Marine Corps generals United States Marine Corps reservists University of Oklahoma alumni People from Shattuck, Oklahoma United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II