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HomeMy WebLinkAbout Louis Hudson, Brazos Valley Heroes Louis Hudson was bom into a family that believed in prayer and the power of prayer. It was to be something he would rely on to survive during his time of service in World War II and to carry him through life thereafter. Hudson, who was bom in Somerville, graduated from Temple High School in 1940 and enrolled at A&M as part of the largest enrollment in A&M history at that time - 6,000 students. "There wasn't much to do on weekends after class, so a lot of us would go to the Campus Theater on Sunday aftemoons. I was there when the manager stopped the movie on December 7, 1941, to announce the bombing of Pearl Harbor. We all headed back to the dorms and some guys left immediately to join the military. I decided to stay and finish as much of my degree as I could. Some time later, my roommate and I were at the Campus Theater again when a newsreel showed paratroopers being trained at Fort Benning, Georgia. I told my roommate then that I was going to get in that outfit. He said I was out of my mind. I fe~ like I was going to miss out on the war, so I resigned from A&M and the next moming at breakfast, one of the army sergeants came up and told me I needed to report to Ft. Sam Houston the next day. "I remember all of us being naked and ~etting our physicals and shots. There was a big guy - about 6 6" and 250 pounds - who was making fun of the people who appeared to be scared while getting their shots. When ~ came his time, he fainted. After we were inducted they sent us in groups - Protestant, Catholic, Jewish - to a chaplain who prayed w~ us that we would be able to serve God, our country and our families. He then gave each of us in our group a New Testament in a steel cover. I carried ~ in my pocket every day throughout the war. "When I got to Benning for jump school, the Army put us through the mill physically and mentally. The training was severe. All you had to do to leave was go to the office and ask for a transfer and they would do ~. After this weeding-out process, we started parachute training. Very few dropped out after that. "Most of us had never been in an airplane, much less jump out of one. The night before our first jump, several of the guys got down on their knees and prayed. I followed su~." Hudson was assigned to the 82nd Airtbome Division; joining them in England. The 82nd had seen significant combat in North Africa and Italy. When Hudson arrived he was matched up w~ a veteran and began preparation for the invasion of France. "We arrived at the airfield to take off at 10 p.m. before the D-Day landing. The chaplain came by and told us some of us were going to meet our Maker and we needed to prepare for that event. I remember him reading the 40th chapter of Isaiah that 'young men would mount up like eagles'. He said Isaiah was talking about us. Then he su~ed up and Jumped w~h us." The 82nd jumped behind the German lines about midnight. The primary objective of Hudson's un~ was the c~ of St. Mere Eglise. "When we jumped, we were scattered allover the peninsula. The guys that landed in the town were all gunned down by the Germans. By the end of the day, we flew the American flag over c~ hall. Then we started getting counterattacked. For the next 35 days we were pretty much in continuous combat. "They finally brought the 82nd and 101 st back to the beach to retum to England. When we got to the beach there was a huge pile of equipment from the soldiers who had been killed storming the beach. Our chaplain, who had also survived our jump, had us stop and praise God that we had been allowed to survive. We did just that. "We had been in the same uniform and in continuous combat for over a month. Our uniforms and each of us stunk as bad as the dead. When we got on the LSTs to go back to England, the sailors stayed as far away from us as they could. We were told we would be jumping into Belgium, but I was glad to be headed to England so we could take a shower and get new uniforms. I would worry about that jump into Belgium later." Louis Hudson's story will be completed next week. If you know a World War II veteran whose story needs to be told, contact the BWM at www.veteransmemorial.org or Bill Youngkin at 979-260-7030. The Eagle -"'"'<l~.ai:'~......... ",.. O'+.'__,:M.~ ~~..!:.:.-~.;q '. "After the 82nd arrived back in England from our D-Day jump, we were able to shower, .get some good meals, get refitted and then pre~ to jump into Belgium. We were loaded into the planes, but the mIssIon was called off because the Germans were retreating so fast that we didn't need to jump. Agroup of Polish paratroopers were supposed to jump with us, but one of their group refused to boatd the plane. His captain walked up to him and shot him dead. If he had gotten on that plane like the rest of us, he might still be alive." Hudson and the 82nd did make a jump, but not into Belgium. They jumped into Holland as part of the near-fatal Operation Martket Garden. "It was a daylight jump, and we were able to jump int~ open fields with no resistance. We thought this was going to be a piece of cake. ~ wasn't. We were to take and hold certain bridges until our tanks could reach the bridges. After we took the bridges, we were under aimost constant counterattack. We had underestimated the German strength and the time ~ would take for our tanks to arrive. "The area leading to the bridges was across the lowlands of Holland, and the tanks had to use the roadways to get to the bridges. The Germans would hit the lead tank and all the other tanks had to stop because they couldn't go around in the fields because they were too wet and muddy. They would push the damaged tank off the road and try to continue. Then the Germans would knock out the lead tank again. The British, who took most of the casua~ies, were almost wiped out." Because of the British casualties, Operation Market Garden was abandoned and the 82nd was otdered back to France to prepare for the invasion of Germany. OnDecernber 16, 1944, the Germans launched a surprise offensive through the Atdenne Forest. It was to be called the Battle of the Bulge. ' "When the Germans broke through in Belgium, we were sent to counterattack. As we were being trucked in, everyone else was going the other way. During the first eight hours, we ran into Germans who were in American uniforms and using American vehicles. We knew from reports that if you got captured by the Germans you would probably be shot, so ~ became much more than an'otdinary battle. "The battles and the weather were both terrible, bI{\ I think the weather may have been the worst. We had frostbite on our hands, feet and faces. We had to give ground, but we finally stopped them. I think the only ground the 82nd ever relinquished to the etiemy was at the Battle of the Bulge." After the Battle of the Bulge, the 82nd and other units began the push into Germany. They crossed the Roer River, bypassing large numbers of German troops, and stopped near Cologne so their tanks could catch up. They eventually met up with the Russian troops at the Elbe River. ''The German 21 st Army surrendered to our unit so they could get away from the Russians. The Russians were raping and killing every German in sight. After we got to the Elbe, I was in a Jeep driving through a village when a Russian tank came flying around the comer. A German civilian tried to run away, and the Russi an tank gunned him down. That Russian tank kept coming right up to our Jeep wi\h its turret pointed at me and rocked to a stop right in front. A Russian popped out and said 'Rusky here - drink - celebrate.' I was real glad he wanted to drink instead of shoot." After the surrender of Germany, the 82nd began to train for the invasion of Japan. "We were commanded by Gen. James Gavin, who was' the youngest general in WWII. He jumped with the troops, usually being the first one out the door. He ate with us and slept on the ground with us. There wasn't a man in the 82nd that didn't love him. When we were in training in France, he had all of us formed up and then addressed us. He said we were going to be asked to jump into Tokyo. He then asked 'all men who will jump into Tokyo with me, step forwatd.' Every one of us did." Hudson arrived back in the U.S. on Christmas Day 1945, nearly perishing at sea on the return voyage. He returned to A&M, finished his degree and then began teaching - wh ich he only planned to do for a year or two. He retired as the principal at SFA in Bryan. . "When I think back on the war, we were untrained and unpre- pared for the war but we had courage as a nation. We prepared, we prayed and we prevailed." Louis Hudson's name can be found on the Brazos Valley Veteran's Memorial. If you would like to have a name added or know of a World War II veteran whose story needs to be told, contact the BWM at www.veteransmemorial.org or Blli Youngkin at 979-260-7030. 1 I I t '.