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Show Georgia Boy Rose RoseFrom ' Fronl Buck Private PrivateTo I To 4-Star 4 Star - General GeneralWASHINGTON I IWASmNGT WASmNGT WASHINGTON He was bom born in inI InPerry I fatherI Perry Ga in 1887 where his father fatherpublished fatherpublished I published the Houston Home Jour JournaL JournaL naL As a boy he worked around aroundthe aroundthe the newspaper plant but was more moreInterested moreinterested Interested In the Perry Rifles RltIes a 10 10cal local cal guard unit Having heard his hisparents hisparents parents speak of former members membersof membersof of the Hodges family as Confeder Confederate Confederate ate soldiers in the Civil war he was wasdetermined wasdetermined determined to become a soldierHe soldier soldierHe He entered West Point In 1904 but butbecause butbecause because of trouble with mathemat mathemat- - ics left the United Uruted States Milltary Milltaryacademy Militaryacademy academy and enlisted to in the army armyas armyas as an Infantry private In 1909 he re recelved received celved his commission as a seccnd seccndlieutenant secondlieutenant , lieutenant simultaneously with the thecommissioning thecommissioning commissioning of his former West WestPomt WestPoint Pomt classmates Instead of spend spending spending ing three years at the Point Pomt he be became came an officer after service at atvarious various Infantry installations mstallatlons His Hisearly Hisearly early army career Included service serviceGEN GEN GIN : COURTNEr COURTNEY H D HODGES DODGES HODGESwith with General Pershuig Pershmg s Mexican MexicanPurutlve MexicanPunitive Purutlve expedition and the 6th In Infan Infantry fan try regiment regunent of the 5th d vision in inFrance inFrance France Luxembourg and Crtrmany ! Germanyin CrtrmanyIn In World War IHe I IHe He was appointed appomted commandant of ofthe ofthe the Infantry school at Fort Ben Benn n ng Ga in 1940 He became chief chiefof chiefof of infantry mfantry In Washington Washmgton was made madechief madechief chief of the ground forces replace replacement replacement ment and school commandhen command \ when \\hen hen the thearmy thearmy army was rcorgaruze reorgamzetf into mto ground groundair groundair air and 'ervice ervice "erVlce erVlce ' " forces and later laterbecame laterbecame became command ng general of the theX theX X army corps He was assigned to tocommand tocommand command the Third Tlurd army Fort FortSam FortSam Sam Houston Texas in lD February February1943 1943 and served in this capacity un unt until t March 1944 when he was as assigned assigned signed to the First army in m the Eu European European ropean theater of operationsAssistant operations operationsAssistant Assistant to Gen Omar N Brad Bradley Bradley ley when the First army too took " part partin partin in the mvas on of Normandy cap capture capture ture of Cherbourg and the break breakthrough breakthrough through at St Lo Hodges assumed assumedfull assumedfull full command m August 1944 He Hepaved Hepaved paved the way for the Third army s sand sand and his famous First rust s spectacular spectacularlunges spectacularlunges lunges across France was the first firstInto firstinto Into Paris first into Germany first firstarmy firstarmy army commander since smce Napoleon to tocross tocross cross the Rh ne river in battle first firstto firstto to enter and clear out the Hurtgen Hurtgenforest Hurtgenforest forest in m the cold winter wmter months monthsand monthsand and first to meet the RussiansAmong Russians RussiansAmong Among his higher decorations are arethe arethe the Distmgu DlstIngu shed Service Cross and andthe andthe the Sih Siher er Star from the first war warand warand and the Dist Dlst nguished ngulshed Service Med Medal Medal al and an Oak Leaf Cluster for serv servIces services Ices in the current COnfliCtGeneral conflict conflictGeneral General Hodges presently com commands cornmands mands the First army with head headquarters headquarters quarters at Fort Bragg N Crrom C CFrom From rrom private to four star general generalis is a route any soldier would luce like to totraveland totravel travel-and travel and - and Courtney Hicks Hodges Hodgesis is one who d d And in m future years yearssome yearssome some of America s highest rankmg rankmgofficers rankingofficers officers will come from the ranks from ranksfrom among men who made the thearmy army a career _ _ |