Asheville Butterfly Trail
I was lucky enough to be Captain Rose’s secretary at McDowell High NJROTC. In fact, he was the first one who established a position of a secretary for NJROTC. The cadets did most of the work, but he knew there were things that needed to be done while the cadets were on field trips, etc. At the time, McDowell was the only NJROTC with their own secretary in the nation. He started a trend. He was a great friend and very accomplished individual. I will never forget all of his stories. The world is a better place because of the heroism of Captain Rose. Rest in Peace, Captain!
Hardy N. Rose Captain U.S. Navy, (ret.)
September 1, 1931 ~ February 19, 2025
Born in:
Shreveport, Louisiana
Resided in:
Asheville, NC
Hardy N. Rose, Captain U.S. Navy, (ret.) a loving great-grandfather, decorated Naval aviator, and jazz man, who relished the exhilaration of fine music and jet flight, died on February 19th, in Asheville, North Carolina. He was 93. He will be laid to rest with Full Honors in Arlington National Cemetery on November 13, 2025.
A gentle and spirited southern gentleman, Hardy Rose was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, in September 1931 to the sound of Swing and the Army Air Corps operating at nearby Barksdale Field. In 1940, the historic Louisiana Maneuvers darkened the sky with hundreds of aircraft simulating battle in Europe, and about this time, Hardy began studying the clarinet, animating a passion for music and aviation that would bring purpose to his life and joy to those around him.
For Hardy, music was life’s rallying point. A brilliant musician, Hardy was Drum Major at Byrd High School (Class of 1949) and led the Stardusters Big Band and his own Dixieland jazz group. He served as a cadet in his high school Army Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps, and went on to work his way through Northwestern State University, Louisiana, playing the sax with the Demons Big Band, graduating in 1953 with a degree in music education. “Making music,” Hardy once said, “is really about learning to work with others.”
As Hardy told the story—with a glint in his eye—music was the key to achieving his dream of flying. With the military downsizing after the Korean War, Hardy stood out as the only cadet who could lead the others in marching. This skill secured him a coveted spot in Navy Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. Hardy was commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve in November 1953, and by 1955 earned his Navy “Wings of Gold.”
At twenty-four, flying jets and playing jazz in Jacksonville, Florida, gave way to another lifelong love. Arriving at a party with a ukulele, a smile, and bottle of wine, he met Katie from upstate New York, who in summer 1955 would become his partner for nearly 70 years. That same year, he made his first overseas cruise on the USS Intrepid (CVA-11).
Over the next three decades, during the most intense period of the Cold War, Hardy forged his career as Naval officer, flying from the rolling decks of aircraft carriers, across the Pacific, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. But the crucible of his professional life was the Viet Nam War.
In 1964, with the rapid escalation of the U.S. involvement in Viet Nam, Hardy “strapped on” the single seat A-4E “Skyhawk” jet and joined attack Squadron VA Fifty-Five (VA-55) based in Lemoore, California. In December 1965, the squadron sailed to Viet Nam on the USS Ranger (CVA-61) for eleven months of strikes, including operations Rolling Thunder, Iron Hand and Alpha strikes. They returned, replaced losses, and deployed again to the Tonkin Gulf, this time aboard the USS Constellation (CVA-64), for seven more months of combat operations.
Massing up to 200 aircraft, the Alpha strike missions were said to be the most intensive combat flying in the history of naval warfare. Yet, one evening, somewhere off the coast of Viet Nam, Hardy and his squadron mates took over the hangar deck to play some jazz. All in all, Hardy flew more than 260 combat strikes over Viet Nam, earning three Distinguished Flying Crosses and 27 Air Medals. And he came home.
Success followed as Hardy was selected for command, leading aviators, massive ships, and even ‘flying a desk’ on the staff of the Deputy CNO for Aviation in the Pentagon. Combat ready from Viet Nam, Hardy served as Executive Officer of Attack Squadron VA-12 and then Commanding Officer of VA-36 aboard the USS Shangrila (CVA-38) and the USS Forrestal (CVA-59), in the Mediterranean. He served as Operations Officer then Executive Officer of the USS Forrestal, which was awarded the Battle Efficiency “E” as the best carrier in the Atlantic Fleet. Then, leveraging his intelligence training, he led regional offices of the Naval Investigative Service, now known as the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).
Cold War intrigue was no match for a seasoned Naval officer armed with southern ways. After studying Italian in Washington, D.C., Captain Rose served as the Senior Defense Attaché to Italy at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, where he and Katie secured the trust of NATO allies at the time of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Iran hostage crisis.
For Hardy, a decorated but softspoken warfighter, music his universal language, a calling card that forged connections everywhere he went. He played with the Slow Roll Seven in Pensacola, Florida, formed a jazz group in Seoul, Korea on the margins of the UN Command, and played with the Dixie Five-O, haunting Arlington, Virginia rathskellers. He jammed in Jerusalem on weekends off from the UN Multinational Force Sinai, and, for ten years the Geritol Hipsters entertained monthly at the Prescott Arizona Veterans hospital, while earning seven gold medals at the National Veterans Creative Arts Festivals. Hardy also found bliss in symphonic bands and wind ensembles in the Arizona mountains, and delight in countless jam sessions from Tokyo to North Carolina to Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, and in his youth, New Orleans.
Hardy and the USS Intrepid arrived in New York City for their final assignments at about the same time. In 1981, Hardy assumed command of the Naval Investigative Service Northeast Region in Manhattan, while his first ship, the Intrepid, opened as a museum at Pier 86. Three years later, on that familiar flight deck Captain Rose was awarded the Legion of Merit and retired, piped out from thirty-one years of Naval service.
But his greatest source of professional pride came from the mountains of North Carolina. For eleven years (1987-1998) Captain Rose was the Senior Naval Science Instructor for the McDowell High School Navy Junior ROTC in Marion. Guiding his cadets to excel in marching (of course), rifle, academics and leadership, they earned their place among the top ten percent of more than 575 units in the nation and are known today as the most decorated NJROTC Unit in North Carolina.
Hardy’s resilience was rooted in his life-long dedication to the brotherhood of Freemasons. A 32nd Degree Mason of the Scottish Rite, Hardy was raised in the blue lodge of Shreveport, and participated in lodges from Jacksonville, to shipboard, to Rome, Italy, and most recently the Aztlan Lodge No. 1 in Prescott, Arizona.
On his 90th birthday Hardy took the controls of an aircraft once more. Unfazed by his failing vision, Hardy co-piloted for a Marine Corps friend, asking only two questions: “how high are the mountains, and how high are we?” That knowledge and his deep regard for those around him was all he needed to guide the plane through the clouds to open skies.
Hardy Rose was immensely proud of his family, his dedicated spouse Katie Rose; Shannon Rose (Ciro Pena) of Asheville, NC, and first granddaughter Sara Cefalu Kish (Mike Kish) and first great granddaughter Cameron of Murrells Inlet, SC, Scott Rose of Laurel, MT, Gayle Rose von Eckartsberg (Eric), and granddaughter Rose von Eckartsberg, as well as his nephew Raymond Norwood, Suzanne Boisvert, and sister-in-law Jean Rose (William) of Murphy, NC.
Services
Burial: November 13, 2025 11:00 am
Arlington National Cemetery
1 Memorial Avenue
Arlington, Virginia 22211
(877)907-8585
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America/New_York
2025-11-13 11:00:00
2025-11-13 11:00:00
Hardy N.RoseBurial
Burial
1 Memorial Avenue,Arlington, Virginia 22211
Funeral Home Assisting The Family:
Groce Funeral Home - Patton Ave.
1401 Patton Ave.
Asheville, NC 28806
(828)252-3535
http://www.grocefuneralhome.com
