John Wesley Hardison of Braselton, Georgia, passed away peacefully on June 14, 2010, at his home with his wife and daughters by his side. On August 21, 2010 he would have been 90 years old.
Mr. Hardison was born in Peach County, Georgia and was educated in the Peach County Schools. He graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1942. He was immediately commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Ordinance Division of the Army Air Force. He married Helen Branan that same year on August 18th. During his service in World War II, he served on various air bases in the states until 1943 when he was assigned to India, and then later that year was transferred to China. Because all roads from Burma and India had been cut and occupied by the Japanese, the young Lieutenant was assigned the duty of starting a vehicle assembly and repair facility. At the end of the war, Major Hardison was the Ordnance Officer of the 14th Air Force.
On returning to the states, Mr. Hardison joined John Rogers Company, a new start up engine rebuilding company in Atlanta, Georgia. During his business career he was a member of many professional associations including Pacific Engine Rebuilders (serving on the Board of Directors), The Automotive Parts Rebuilders Association, The Society of Automotive Engineers and The American Society of Metals. By the late 1960â
