Fenton Hardy's Army Days?

[JoeHardyRocks]

I was reading The Genius Thieves and Fenton says

"An old buddy of mine from the army is a school superintendant there."

page 10..... Is there anywhere else where it says Fenton Hardy used to be in the army? And if so, how many jobs has that guy had!?!

[MacGyver]

It's not inconceivable that Fenton Hardy could have served in the Army for a while right after college- or perhaps he did that instead of college. That might make sense then that he went from there to the NYPD and worked his way up in the police department and then retired to become a detective. But offhand I can't think of any other books mentioning this. Nice find.

[SDLagent]

I was reading The Genius Thieves and Fenton says

"An old buddy of mine from the army is a school superintendant there."

page 10..... Is there anywhere else where it says Fenton Hardy used to be in the army? And if so, how many jobs has that guy had!?!

Yes, it's mentioned in a few Casefiles.

[tomswift2002]

As I recall the Hardy's "Uncle" Hugh in The Crowning Terror was an old army friend of Fenton's. 


But you have to remember that when the Casefiles were written, even though the Hardy Boys series had been around since the 1920's, Frank, Joe, Fenton, Laura and Aunt Gertrude were all written to have had similar lifestyles that people living in the 1980's and early 1990's might've had.  So with Fenton saying that he was in the army might've meant that he was in the US Army during the Korean War when, if I recall correctly, the US was drafting young men just graduating from high school for a year or two, or possible even as long as four years of service before they could leave the Army (unless they had a medical exemption or some other government approved exemption) and either go to college or look for work as a civilian.  Elvis Presley was even drafted in the 50's or 60's to be in the US Army.

[MacGyver]

Good point, tomswift2002.
I would imagine Fenton to be a Korean War veteran if anything, though it could have also been the Vietnam War, I suppose.

[tomswift2002]

Good point, tomswift2002.
I would imagine Fenton to be a Korean War veteran if anything, though it could have also been the Vietnam War, I suppose.

Actually, it was the Vietnam war I was thinking of, but I could only recall the Korean War, since in 1987, to have had kids 17 and 18, you probably wouldn't have been a Korean war vet, but Vietnam would definitely have been the war that parent's of 17 and 18 year old Americans would've been in if they had been drafted shortly after they left high school.

[MacGyver]

Well, I wasn't totally sure of Fenton's age either. I think we had stated in one of the trivia questions that he is mentioned as being 45 in the Original continuity. I don't know if that is still true in the Casefiles continuity. (Of course, in the Original continuity, he could have been a veteran of the Spanish-American War!)

[SDLagent]

The original text of The Tower Treasure says Fenton is 40. In the revised texts Fenton's exact age is never stated but he's in his mid-40s.

Personally, I've always thought of Fenton as being at least 47 considering he served in the army and in the NYPD before becoming a private detective. And he joined the force 25 years before Edge of Destruction takes place.

[MacGyver]

That sounds about right.

[hardygirl847]

With all the different ghostwriters, I'm sure it has been blurred over time as to his real age, real background, years spent in the military, NYPD, etc.

[SDLagent]

But I think the exact years were only given once (for both his age and the length of his career). Actually, his age may have been mentioned a few times, but only in the original texts and it was consistently 40.

[hardygirl847]

Yes, but like other characteristics and details, they get changed over time. For instance, Frank's hair goes from black to dark brown to blue. Or old Aunt Gertrude turns into younger, less rigid Aunt Trudy. I could go on and on.

Like you said, the OTs have been more consistent and since they were there first, it's only right to follow in their footsteps. However, new writers come in and inevitably something is going to be altered.

I could see Fenton being 40 though...or maybe mid 40s. That would mean they had Frank when he was 22yrs old. That wouldn't be unheard of back in the 1920s. I think his list of accomplishments kind of makes him at least seem older.

[tomswift2002]

I could see Fenton being 40 though...or maybe mid 40s. That would mean they had Frank when he was 22yrs old. That wouldn't be unheard of back in the 1920s. I think his list of accomplishments kind of makes him at least seem older.

Back in the 1920's it wasn't uncommon to hear of a couple being married when they were 18.  Of course, if Laura was a year younger then Fenton, he may've been 19 when they married and 3 years later had Frank. 

[hardygirl847]

Oh definitely. They could have been married even younger than that. But I'd say they met in high school and married right afterwards. Depending on when Fenton went to the wars, etc that would determine when they were even able to conceive Frank.

I know this is getting a little technical but it's just for the sake of discussion.

If Fenton and Laura got married and then Fenton left right after to be in the military, they would have had to conceive Frank early on or perhaps when Fenton returned home? And then considering Joe is so close in age to Frank, they would have had to conceived him somewhere along the those lines too.

I honestly can't say I know how long a military term was back then...so I don't know how the timeline would have gone.

[AlwaysAJoefan]

Frank might have been conceived before Fenton went in the army. Then, Fenton could have gotten leave for Frank's birth and Joe could have been conceived. It's possible, I guess.