About
Korean War (1950-1953)
Dow Franklin Hardy was born in Schenectady, New York, on June 14, 1930. He grew up in the city of Schenectady, attended Central Park Junior High School, and graduated from Nott Terrace High School in 1948. He played basketball for the Star Overall team; while he was on the team, they won the national division in caged basketball. Dow was one of the top five players on the court. Before entering the military, he worked for Niagara Mohawk Power in Schenectady County, New York.
Dow enlisted in the United States Navy. He was an enlisted fireman, assigned to the U.S.S. Hobson (DD-464). The U.S.S. Hobson was a support ship for the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Wasp (CV-18). On the night of April 26, 1952, the U.S.S. Hobson had a miscalculation on the bridge and ended up colliding with the U.S.S Wasp. The U.S.S. Hobson was cut in half and sank in less than five minutes. Dow and 176 other men were lost at sea. He is remembered at the U.S.S. Hobson Memorial in South Carolina.
*Cage basketball, often referred to as the "cage game," is an early form of basketball where the playing court was completely enclosed by a wire mesh or rope netting fence to separate the players from the spectators. There were five players per team on the court at one time; they followed standard basketball rules.
Sources: The Schenectady Gazette, Find A Grave, Ancestry, Facebook