[3] During World War II, on December 29, 1944, Dardis was a gunner with the 468th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion in General George Patton's Third Army during the Battle of the Bulge.

[6] After twelve hours, Dardis's crew and that of another half-track had shot down four German aircraft with 37-mm cannons and .50 caliber machine guns, while pinned down by aerial bombing and artillery and small arms fire along the Arlon-Bastogne road, for which the other crew were awarded Silver Stars.

[6] After 18 months of deliberation, a unanimous verdict was reached, and in June 1991, Silver Stars were awarded to Dardis and the four other members of his crew, though two had to be posthumous.

That check had been written by a major Republican fundraiser: Kenneth H. Dahlberg, the man Dardis had rescued in World War II.

[2][3] Dardis continued to uncover other major crimes, including a "$862,000 fraud at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in 1974" and "a $258,931 trifecta scam at Flagler Dog Track in 1977".

[5] In the late 1970s, he went undercover, posing as a crooked cop; the investigation led to the dismantling of a "drug ring with annual sales of $500 million".

[6] He was involved in major stories, including Don Reese's revelation of widespread cocaine use in the National Football League and Pete Rose's gambling.