LOUIS M. LEHARDY, LCDR, USN
Louis LeHardy '26
Lucky Bag
From the 1926 Lucky Bag:
Louis Marcel LeHardy
Savannah, Georgia
"Diz" "Piddle"
INJURIES received in swimming during his Youngster year caused this youthful Adonis to spend a sojourn in the Hospital. Just this forced the Class of '25 to hand him back to us. And we received him with open arms in spite of the fact that he had already acquired that terrible name of "Diz." Because really this Southern gentleman is a living example of the old proverb "What's in a name?" Could you just see him standing by the window, the luster of moonbeams playing over his countenance, chanting with a trembling voice some esoteric sesames into whose mysteries we all crave to delve, you might possibly think that he had a slight inclination towards the following of his subtitle; and, gentle reader, you would be right.
His craving for music and the light fantastic easily won him a place on the Hop Committee. He wears no man's collar! And during the swimming season we find him showing the coach how. He comes up for air long enough to inquire about the assignment for the next hour and then submerges again. If he's sat he's satisfied, and he's always that.
Lay off him, women, he's a one-girl man! Panlo!
Swimming Squad (4, 3, 2, 1), Numerals (3, 2); Hop Committee (2, 1); Black N****.
Louis Marcel LeHardy
Savannah, Georgia
"Diz" "Piddle"
INJURIES received in swimming during his Youngster year caused this youthful Adonis to spend a sojourn in the Hospital. Just this forced the Class of '25 to hand him back to us. And we received him with open arms in spite of the fact that he had already acquired that terrible name of "Diz." Because really this Southern gentleman is a living example of the old proverb "What's in a name?" Could you just see him standing by the window, the luster of moonbeams playing over his countenance, chanting with a trembling voice some esoteric sesames into whose mysteries we all crave to delve, you might possibly think that he had a slight inclination towards the following of his subtitle; and, gentle reader, you would be right.
His craving for music and the light fantastic easily won him a place on the Hop Committee. He wears no man's collar! And during the swimming season we find him showing the coach how. He comes up for air long enough to inquire about the assignment for the next hour and then submerges again. If he's sat he's satisfied, and he's always that.
Lay off him, women, he's a one-girl man! Panlo!
Swimming Squad (4, 3, 2, 1), Numerals (3, 2); Hop Committee (2, 1); Black N****.
Loss
Louis was lost when USS San Francisco (CA 38) was severely damaged during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on November 13, 1942.
He was a member of the staff of Admiral Daniel Callaghan '11, who was also killed during this action.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
In 1920, Louis received his passport and traveled to visit relatives in France and Belgium and tour Holland and Spain. He was 15 years old, 5’4”, with blue eyes and light brown hair.
He was survived by his wife Sarah and children Linda and Ward.
His father Louis was a cotton exporter who died in 1913. His mother was Julia, brother Frank and sister Julia.
His wife was listed as next of kin. He has a memory marker in the Naval Academy Cemetery, where his wife is buried. Their young son, who died in 1933, is also buried there.
Photographs
Louis's passport photograph
From Hall of Valor:
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Commander Louis Marcel LeHardy, United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Communications Officer on board the Heavy Cruiser U.S.S. SAN FRANCISCO (CA-38), during an engagement with Japanese naval forces near Savo Island on the night of 12 - 13 November, 1942. On this occasion the force to which Lieutenant Commander LeHardy was attached engaged at close quarters and defeated a superior enemy force, inflicting heavy damage upon them and preventing the accomplishment of their intended mission. This daring and intrepid attack, brilliantly executed, led to a great victory for his country's forces. By his indomitable fighting spirit, expert seamanship, and gallant devotion to duty, Lieutenant Commander LeHardy contributed largely to the success of the battle and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 312 (March 1943)
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.
The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.
The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.
Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.
July 1928
October 1928
January 1929
April 1929
July 1929
October 1929
January 1930
April 1930
October 1930
January 1931
April 1931
July 1931
October 1931
January 1932
April 1932
October 1932
January 1933
April 1933
July 1933
LCDR Lyman Swenson '16
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Register '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT Howard Healy '22
1LT Charles Kail '23
LT Hallsted Hopping '24
LTjg Lawrence McPeake '24
LTjg James Smith, Jr. '25
October 1933
LCDR Lyman Swenson '16
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Register '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT Howard Healy '22
1LT Charles Kail '23
LT Hallsted Hopping '24
LTjg Lawrence McPeake '24
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25
LTjg Andrew Harris '25
April 1934
LCDR Lyman Swenson '16
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Register '21
LT William Gray '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT Howard Healy '22
1LT Charles Kail '23
LT Hallsted Hopping '24
LT Lawrence McPeake '24
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25
July 1934
LCDR Albert Rooks '14
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Paul Register '21
LT William Gray '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
1LT Charles Kail '23
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25
October 1934
LCDR Albert Rooks '14
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Paul Register '21
LT William Gray '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
January 1935
LCDR Albert Rooks '14
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Paul Register '21
LT William Gray '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
April 1935
LCDR Albert Rooks '14
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Paul Register '21
LT William Gray '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LTjg Heywood Edwards '26
October 1935
January 1936
April 1936
July 1936
January 1937
April 1937
September 1937
January 1938
July 1938
January 1939
October 1939
June 1940
November 1940
April 1941
Namesake
USS LeHardy (DE 20) was named for Louis. The ship was originally intended for the Royal Navy, and therefore was not sponsored by his wife or other relation.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
