Hodges, Courtney Hicks.

Hodges, Courtney Hicks, born 01-05-1887 in Perry, Georgia. He was the fourth of eight children. His father published a small-town newspaper. The Hodges family traces its roots back to England and Hodges’ branch arrived in America in 1750. After the American Revolution, they moved to Houston County, Georgia. Courtney’s father, John became the proprietor of the local newspaper, Houston Home Journal. Hodges attended Perry High School and graduated in 1903. Later he enrolled at North Georgia Agricultural College (now known as the University of North Georgia). He became a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. Pi Kappa Alpha was founded in Room 47 West Range at the University of Virginia in 1868. Since then, it has developed into an international brotherhood and become one of the largest fraternal organizations in the world.

After his first year at North Georgia, Courtney received an appointment to the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point. He attended West Point but dropped out after a year because of poor test scores, “found deficient” in mathematics. He would have graduated with the Class of 1909. In 1906 Hodges enlisted in the United States Army as a private, and became a commissioned officer three years later. He served with George Catlett Marshall

in the Philippines and Georg Smith Patton in Mexico.

    He earned the Distinguished Service Cross, during the closing days of World War I while leading an attack across the Marne River. After the war he was sufficiently well thought of that he became an instructor at West Point, even though he had not graduated from that institution. In 1938, he became an Assistant Commandant of the United States Army Infantry School, and in 1941, he became full Commandant. In May 1941, he was promoted to Major General and was given various assignments, including Chief of Infantry until he finally received a frontline command, that of the X Corps, in 1942. In 1943, while commanding both X Corps and then Third Army, he was sent to Britain, where he served under General Omar N. Bradley. During Operation Overlord, he was subordinate to Omar “Brad”  Bradley   as Deputy Commander of the First Army, but in August 1944, he succeeded Bradley, as the latter went to command 12^th Army Group and took command of the Army. Hodges’s troops were the first to reach Paris, France, and he led them through Germany. His troops fought the Battle of Hurtgen Forest and had a major role in the Ardennes Offensive, otherwise known as the Battle of the Bulge. Warner Wili Holzinger, born in Germany, a sergeant from the Troop B of the 85^th Reconnaissance Squadron, 5^th Army  was the first GI to cross the German border throught the Siegfried line, since 1814. The First Army was the first unit to cross the Rhine River, by using the still standing Ludendorff bridge at Remagen

 and to meet with the Soviet Red Army near Torgau, on the river Elbe. The first American Soldier to cross the Rhine River into Germany over the bridge at Remagen during WWII, on 07-03-1945, was Alexander Drabik, U.S. Sergeant of the 9^th Army .

 Casualties of the 9^th Army  in 304 days of combat were 23.277. Hodges was promoted to General on 15-04-1945 making him only the second man, after General, and of the Commander Sixth Army Walter Krueger, to rise to full General from enlisted private. In May 1945, after the German surrender, Hodges and his troops were ordered to prepare for the invasion of Japan; that became unnecessary, however, when the atomic bomb caused Japan’s surrender later that year. Hodges was present at the surrenders of both Germany and Japan.

  After World War II, Hodges continued command of First Army at Fort Jay at Governors Island, New York until his retirement in March 1949. Hodges died in San Antonio, Texas on 16-01-1966, age 78 and is buried with his wife Mildred, born Lee, who died at the very old age of 96, in 1991, on the Arlington National Cemetery, Section 2. Close by in Section 2, the graves of  General, Commander 92^nd “ Negro Division”, Edward “Ned” Almond , Major General, Commander 8^th Bomber Command Europe, Fredrick Anderson,Rear Admiral, Commander Destroyer Greyson, Frederic Bell, Navy Admiral, “Operation Crossroads”, William Blandy,General, Commander 32^nd Infantry Division, Clovis Byers, Navy Admiral. Battle of the Leyte Gulf, Robert Carney, Air Force General Lieutenant, Claire Chennault, Brigade General, Assistant Commanding General 45^th Division.John Huston Church, Lieutenant General, Commander 4^th Corps, Italy Campaign, Willis Crittenberger

Major General and commander of the 5^th Infantry Division, Joseph Michaerl Cummins, Brigadier General, First African-American General, Benjamin Davis, Quartermaster Lieutenant General, John Lesesne De Witt, Major General and Head OSS, William “Wild Bill” Donovan, Brigadier General, Speck Easley, Marine Corps Major General, Commander 1^st Raider Battalion , Merrit “Red Mike” Edson, Lieutenant General, VIII Army, Robert Eichelberger, Navy Admiral, Commander Nord Pacific Fleet, Frank Fletscher and Navy Admiral, Commander VII Forces, William Fechteler, Lieutenant General, Commander 86^th Infantry Division,Ridgeley Gaither, Major General, Commander 29^th Infantry Division, D-Day, Charles Gerhardt and Admiral, U.S. Chief of Naval Material, John Gingrich, U.S. Brigadier General, “ Merrill’s Marauders “ in Burma, Frank Down Merril, U.S. 4* Navy Vice Admiral. Commander U.S.S. Hornet, Doolittle Raid, Marc Mitscher,

  .

Brigade General Courtney Whitney,

, Brigadier General, First African-American General, Benjamin Davis, Quartermaster Lieutenant General, John De Witt, Major General and Head OSS, William Donovan, Brigadier General, Speck Easley, Marine Corps Major General, Commander 1^st Raider Battalion, Merrit Edson, Lieutenant General, VIII Army, Robert Eichelberger, Navy Admiral, Commander Nord Pacific Fleet, Frank Fletscher and Navy Admiral, Commander VII Forces, William Fechteler, Lieutenant General, Commander 86^th Infantry Division, Ridgeley Gaither, Major General, Commander 29^th Infantry Division, D-Day, Charles Gerhardt.