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This Remembrance Profile was originally created by Sgt Stephen Willcox - Deceased
Contact Info
Home Town Hinsdale, Illinois
Last Address Shalimar, Florida
Date of Passing Feb 04, 1998
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
Lieutenant Colonel Edward Francis Hodges retired from the U.S. Air Force on June 30, 1970. At the time of his retirement he was the Deputy to Chief Plans & Programs for Special Operations Forces Headquarters at Eglin AFB, Florida. He was then President and general manager of Hodges and Sons Inc., a heating and air conditioning company until the business was sold in 1979. He lived in the Shalimar, Florida area from about 1968 to his death at the Fort Walton Beach Medical Center in 1998 from complications of Lung Cancer. During his retirement years he was active in a number of military related organizations including the Air Force Association, Retired Officers Association, BPOE Fort Walton Beach Lodge 1795, Disabled American Veterans, P-47 Thunderbolt Pilots Association, P-51 Mustang Pilots Association and the Northwest Florida Retired Officers Club.
He is buried at the Beal Memorial Cemetery, Ft. Walton Beach, Okaloosa County, Florida.
Sources: http://www.findagrave.com, Social Security Death Index, Ancestry.com and Florida Death Index, 1877-1998, Ancestry.com
Other Comments:
Edward Francis Hodges was born in Hinsdale, Illinois, the son of Edward P. Hodges and Mary Frances Nanz. In the late 1930's he served in the Civilian Conservation Corps in Missouri before enlisting in the Army Air Corps on March 30, 1942 at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. By 1945 he was flying combat missions in P-47s from the island of le Shima against mainland Japan. By 1947 he trained to fly the P-51 at Kearney Air Base in Nebraska, then deployed to Clark AFB in the Philippines in 1948. A Clark Field he served as both a pilot and supply officer for the 67th Fighter Squadron. With the onslaught of the Korea War he was flying combat missions again in 1950. Returning from a combat mission his engine quit and he was forced to bail out, injuring his back as he ejected from the aircraft. He was later rescued and returned to duty, but because of his back injury he was sent back to Clark Field and soon back to the states were he trained F-86 and F-84 pilots for the Korean War. During the Vietnam War he was sent to Tan Son Nhut Air Base where he served as Commander ALCE (Airlift Control Element).
Sources: http://trees.ancestry.com, U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 & http://www.18thfwa.org
Note: During his career Lt. Col. Hodges obviously earned other medals then those depicted on this profile, thus the medal array does not represent his full awards and honors. The dates for the medals are also not accurate, but attempt to represent what he would have earned while serving in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, plus other awards mentioned in Internet resources. For a more detailed biography of Lt. Colonel Edward F Hodges see http://www.18thfwa.org/natural/Causes/edHodges/edHodges.php
Vietnam War/Tet Counteroffensive Campaign (1968)
From Month/Year
January / 1968
To Month/Year
April / 1968
Description This period was from January 22-July 7, 1968.
The air campaign in defense of Khe Sanh, an outpost held by the U.S. 26th Marine Regiment. began on January 22. 1968. For 2 and 1/2 months Allied tactical air forces continuously attacked targets surrounding the base and B-52s dropped bombs near Khe Sanh on an average of every 90 minutes. At night AC-47 gunships provided illumination and close air support. Air Force and Marine airlifters. mostly C-130s. frequently landed under fire at the Khe Sanh airstrip. bringing in supplies and reinforcements and flying out the wounded and refugees. When the transports could no longer land because of intense mortar and artillery fire. their crews used parachutes and arrester cables to extract cargo from the aircraft as they flew a few feet above the ground over the airstrip. Beginning on March 6 the Seventh Air Force provided fighter escorts to suppress enemy fire and lay down smoke screens until the C-130s dropped their cargoes. Gen. William C. Westmoreland, MACV Commander, encountered difficulties coordinating the air resources of the USAF and U.S. Marines to meet both the military demands at Khe Sanh and the requirements introduced by the Tet Offensive that the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong launched on January 30, 1968. On March 8 he appointed the Seventh Air Force Commander. Gen. William W. Momyer, as Deputy Commander for Air Operations. MACV. to manage all tactical air resources in South Vietnam.
Late in March 1968 the North Vietnamese surrounding Khe Sanhmwithdrew. leaving only a single NVA division to oppose the Allied advance. On April 1, the 1st Marine regiment and the Army's 1st Cavalry Division moved along Route 9. relieving Khe Sanh 5 days later. On April 10. for the first time in 48 days. no shells fell on the base.
A week later, on April 19. the Allies mounted a helicopter-bome attack against A Shau Valley on the Laotian border. 30 miles south- west of Hue. The Viet Cong and NVA had built a vast stores and logistical base in this area since 1966. Preliminary USAF and Allied air strikes. including B-52 bombings between April 8 and 13, 1968. failed to clear the enemy from landing zones. In spite of the heavy resistance. on April 24, the U.S. Army seized the A Luoi airstrip at the northwest end of the valley. USAF transports airdropped supplies. often during bad weather and without tactical air support, because intense ground fire prevented the landing of C-130s until May 4. The Viet Cong and North Vietnamese withdrew into Laos in mid-May, leaving behind large caches of weapons and supplies.
Earlier in the year. on January 30, the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese launched the Tet (Buddhist New Year) Offensive throughout South Vietnam in an effort to regain the political and military initiative that they had held 2 years previously. At Bien Hoa and Tan Son Nhut Air Bases. alert base defenders successfully repulsed initial attacks, but in the next 2 weeks the air bases came under frequent mortar and rocket attacks; in all, the USAF lost 14 aircraft on the ground and another 114 damaged. During the Tet Offensive. Seventh Air Force pilots provided close air support for Allied troops. and C-7s and C-130s hauled ammunition, supplies, and reinforcements to isolated areas. Within 2 or 3 days Allied forces cleared the Viet Cong troops from all cities except Saigon and Hue. By February 5, the Allies had driven the Viet Cong from Saigon, although a large force remained in the vicinity. North Vietnamese forces that had taken the old imperial city of Hue were more difficult to dislodge. The Seventh Air Force used close air support carefully to avoid indiscriminate and unwanted damage in Hue; AC-130 gunships that could deliver precise fire day or night provided the most effective support. On February 25, Allied forces succeeded in driving the enemy from the city. Although
the Allies successfully and rapidly countered the Tet Offensive. the Communists gained a significant propaganda victory. Many Ameri- cans believed that a failure of U.S. military policy had permitted the Communists to mount so extensive a battle throughout South Vietnam.
