[or-roots] the missing plane - found

[Chris & Bill Strickland]

more from   http://www.newspaperarchive.com, to which I am not 
subscribed --

Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, Sunday, August 21, 1949

" The plane whose wreckage was found accidentally by a hiker day carried 
air force Col AY Smith 49 San Francisco army COL Walter W Hodge 45 San ..."

And from a bio on the the United States Military Academy tribute page 
for his son, below,

"COL Hodge was killed in April 1949 on an official flight to Portland, 
OR, when his plane crashed into Mt. Hood. He was laid to rest in the 
Presidio of San Francisco with full military honors, and the largest 
office building in Alaska was named after him in 1956. "

-----

Obituraries for Walter William Hodge Jr. -- from 
http://www.aogusma.org/class/1961/hodge.htm

Biography:

Walter William Hodge "Herky" was born 15 Apr 1938 in St. Louis, MO, a 
son of Willie and Walter Hodge. He graduated from West Point in 1961 and 
served in the Army in Thailand and Vietnam. In 1963, he took one of the 
first groups of combat troops to Vietnam and returned with no 
casualties. He received the Air Medal with oak leaf cluster and the 
Vietnamese Expeditionary Medal for his service.

After leaving the Army, Walt taught GED classes at Phoenix College and 
was a veteran's counselor during 1974-78. In 1979 he founded Career 
Exploration Academy and worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 
Kayenta, counseling Navajo students, unntil1991. While working at Shonto 
Boarding School, he was president of the teachers union. Walt also was 
superintendent of Paloma School District and taught at Coconino 
Community College in Page. He later was a counselor at Desert Shadows 
Middle School in Nogales, where he wrote the manuscript for a book, 
"What Do You Want to Be, Now That You Are Grown Up?"

 His wife Nancy wrote a short time after his death: "Words cannot 
express my feeling of gratitude and appreciation for your support and 
prayers during this time. It has been overwhelming and at the same time 
comforting to hear how much Herky was loved, respected and missed by his 
classmates and fellow servicemen, even though many years have passed 
since seeing one another. It was very emotional for me to read the cards 
and letters received from all of you. 1he special lift-long bond that 
was shared with Herky and all the other men is phenomenal and beyond my 
expectations.

"Although Herky did not stay in the service .... he frequently made 
reference to his tour of duty in Viet Nam. After the service, Herky 
continued to utilize his outstanding leadership qualities throughout his 
career in the field of education."

Walter and Nancy were married in 1981 while working at a resident school 
on an Indian Reservation in northern Arizona. He was the head counselor 
and supervisor of the boy's dorm where Nancy was teaching. In 1990 Walt 
had the opportunity to fulfill a dream and move to Page, AZ, to accept a 
faculty position at the community college. The Hodge Family, grown to 
three over the years with the addition of a son Dane, moved to Page, 
near Lee's Ferry on the Colorado River, where Walt loved to fish.  

When Walt began to have frequent bouts with pneumonia due to his lung 
condition, the doctor recommended that he move to a lower altitude. In 
2002, he moved to Arizona City in southern Arizona, and after a long, 
courageous battle with lung cancer, Walter Hodge departed this world on 
10 Mar 2004, dressed in old battle fatigues with the Arizona National 
Guard firing a final salute. Walter is survived by his wife Nancy; son 
William Dane; and sister, Judith Lundin, of Phoenix, AZ.  

Herky was raised in a military family, moving from post to post with his 
dad, COL Walter W Hodge '25, mom, Willie, and sister Judy. COL Hodge was 
a native of Chicago and held military posts in Panama, Ft. Lewis, WA, 
Ft. Douglas, UT, the Presidio of San Francisco and also was stationed in 
Manila after the war. He was a member of the Alaska Road Commission in 
1930, and he, another engineer, two Indian guides and a cook made a 
30-day trip by pack train to survey the highway route. COL Hodge was 
killed in April 1949 on an official flight to Portland, OR, when his 
plane crashed into Mt. Hood. He was laid to rest in the Presidio of San 
Francisco with full military honors, and the largest office building in 
Alaska was named after him in 1956.  

After COL Hodge's death, the family moved to Tucson, AZ. Walt attended 
Tucson High School and then graduated from Brown Military Academy in 
Glendale, CA. Being from a military family, Walt entered both Sullivan 
Preparatory School and West Point with a reservoir of knowledge gained 
over 20 years of living on Army posts throughout the world. He knew more 
about military history and leadership than anyone in my life when we met 
at Sullivan's. Walt was an early leader who wanted to help others and 
was not concerned about himse1£ He was a recognized leader among the 
Class of '61, and as his good friend and Sullivan classmate, Mike 
Maloney, wrote, "He was the only one of the boys to make rank." He was a 
cadet officer, but more important was the way Walt helped and treated 
others during very difficult times for him personally and the military 
in general. He was my very good friend throughout my life.  

A memorial was held for Walter Hodge on 9 Jul 2005 at a gravesite on the 
family property near Williams, AZ, to dedicate a new headstone. It was a 
gravesite that Herky had selected and loved, in the mountains of 
northern Arizona. It was a lovely, clear, cool Arizona afternoon. Those 
present included Gary Lord, Jerry and Connie Zingsheim, Paul DeVries, 
Gus and Charlotte Stiehl, Jim Lynch and grandson James, Bruce Dalgleish, 
Gabe and Susie Gabriel, and Mike Brady and Colleen.  

Prior to the service, we viewed pictures and documents of Walt's life. 
It brought back memories of Sullivan prep school, the Academy, Ft. 
Benning, GA, and IOBC, Jump School and Ranger School, our first 
assignments and, of course, Viet Nam. The ceremony included a review of 
his life, wherein each classmate lit a candle and said a few words about 
him. There was a short video tribute with pictures from childhood to 
senior citizen. Nancy saw a part of Walt that she had missed. It is hard 
for the wives who came into our lives later to relate to the 
relationships that we have, the difficulties we overcame together, the 
joys of conquering Ranger School, the shared triumph and sorrows. Nancy 
deeply appreciated the opportunity to see Herky through our eyes, from 
our words and to feel our caring for her.  

May He Rest in Peace, God Bless for a Job Well Done.  

-Love, Nancy, Judy, and Dane

TAPS MAY/JUNE 2008




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