Hodges, Edward, Lt Col

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

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