Kester B. Hardman

Korean War
Service #15288867
UnitM CO 38 INF 2 DIV
RankSergeant U.S. Army
Date of DeathApril 24 1951
StatusRecovered
Memorialized
Courts of the Missing
Court
6
Korean Service Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Prisoner of War Medal
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
Republic of Korea War Service Medal
United Nations Service Medal
Combat Infantryman Badge
Sergeant Hardman was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Prisoner of War Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.
Notes

Sergeant Hardman was a member of Company M, 3rd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was taken Prisoner of War while fighting the enemy in North Korea on December 2, 1950 and died while a prisoner on April 24, 1951. His remains were not recovered.

Through the work of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, the remains of Sergeant Kester B. Hardman were accounted for in 2024. His name is permanently inscribed on the “Courts of the Missing” at the Honolulu Memorial.

rosetta medal
When an individual’s remains have been accounted for by the U.S. Department of Defense, a rosette is placed next to the name on the Wall/Tablet/Court of the Missing to mark that the person now rests in a known gravesite.