The original owner of the collection appears to be Benson Bliss Hardy (November 22, 1920 to May 9, 2006), and this material was collected during his time in the military. Mr. Hardy was 
born in Oakland, CA. He began his military career in 1942 as a ship's Cook First Class in the U.S. Navy. ln 1948, he left the Navy and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. During this time he 
attended photo school and received three months of training in photo interpretation. He served in World War II and the Korean War in Japan, Korea and Greenland. He worked in top secret 
photo interpretation and was awarded a Letter of Commendation Meda] and a Bronze Star.

In 1956, he left the Air Force as a Captain. Mr. Hardy then worked for and retired from Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical. During a layoff period from Ryan, he worked as a cook on the FLIP vessel at Scripps Institute of Oceanography. In 2004, he co-authored and published a book with Duane Hall, "Photographic Aerial Reconnaissance and Interpretation, Korea, 1950-1952." Mr. Hardy was an avid breeder and grower of orchids, and was actively involved with many orchid societies, both locally and intemationally.

The collection's Finding Guide.