Sumner Hudson

Under the Map, Please see the 2nd "Sumner" Page !  :)  Barbi Ennis Connolly

QUOTE'      Sumner Hutson, Jr. born 23 May, 1922 at Clear Lake Iowa, Joined the Service 4 Oct. 1940 ... assigned to the 7th Infantry 4 Oct. 1940, 17th Inf. Service Co.   MIlitary locations include Ft ORD., San Luis Obispo, Italy, Africa, Tunisia, France, Korea, Japan, Egypt, Lybia.  Memorable experience include; Day of Pearl Harbor, German paratroop drop, Naples Bombing, Monte Cassino, Isome, Dachua, 43 days on a troop ship, Po River and Anzio.  Awarded Bronze Star, Amer. Campaign, ROK Medal, 3 DUC's and achievd the rank of Lt Col.  Resides in San Antonio, TX, retired but does volunteer time in Retired Assoc. VITA.  Do-It-Yourself.  Enjoys Travel and Photography. 

    > Book "7th Infantry Division" by By Bruce Gardner, Barbara Stahura

One of the assignments of Ret Lt Col Sumner Hudson was that he and his 17th Infantry Regiment guarded the B-24 Liberators of the 376thBG, the 512thBS  in Southern Italy, between Bari and Foggia, Italy during WW II.  

7th Inf. Div; Light, Silent, And Deadly  (Motto)

17th REGIMENT'S MOTTO: "TRUTH and COURAGE"

Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) /Sumner is a Director on the Board of the MOAA (which was formerly called the "Retired Officers of America")

  I met Sumner because he placed his child-hood friend "Harold Cookman" KIA, WW II, 321stBG, 448thBS, B-25 Mitchells out of Africa.... into the Nation Rolls that Honor all Airmen.     I am the Historian for Harold's 321st Bomb Group (57th Bomb Wing) Barbi Ennis Connolly, and I find Sumner to be another Hero.  Sumner lives with his wife, Wanda in Texas (Oct. 2009) and has many interesting stories (to come).

MOAA Today in the San Antonio, Texas Area.  In February, 1958, the San Antonio Retired Officers Association (SAROA) was organized with 56 charter members. In January, 1961, when it was chartered as an affiliate of The Retired Officers Association (TROA), now the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), membership had grown to 499. Today, as we celebrate our fifty years as an organization, the membership exceeds 950 regular and auxiliary members making MOAA-Alamo Chapter (MOAA-AC) one of the largest chapters of MOAA in the nation.

QUOTE from the Lariat;     Our retiree efforts are also showing promise. Thanks to the help of many in the chapter, we have reached out to the Air Force Villages residents who are initiating a satellite chapter. I am very excited, as I know many of you are, about this. We welcome all of you to the Alamo Chapter.   It was fascinating reading about Sumner Hudson’s career. If you would like to share an interesting experience, be sure to let the Lariat staff know. There is so much to be gained within our chapter by volunteering, or sharing the camaraderie of life experiences and careers. Never be hesitant in asking any one outside our chapterwho is a prior or active officer if he or she would be interested in joining this `family’ chapter of fine and outstanding officers and citizens. April '08 

Sumner Hudson (Jr)  (Ret Lt Col.)

 Sumner Hudson (Jr) Clear Lake Community High School Clear lake, IA Class of 1940

MOAA Ret Lt Col Sumner Hudson Article....TEXAS

Injured veterans recuperating in San Antonio aren’t lacking for creature comforts, thanks to the generosity shown by members of the San Antonio Chapter. For the past several months, chapter members have collected, bought, or donated items such as prepaid long-distance telephone cards, books, magazines, and movies and have delivered them to troops who are undergoing physical therapy at one of the medical facilities in Fort Sam Houston.

Lt. Col. Sumner Hudson, USA-Ret., is one of approximately 25 chapter members who have been delivering goods to injured troops, many of whom are amputees or have severe burns. Hudson, 82, says he decided to get involved with the effort after he saw an episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” about soldiers who had been severely burned while serving in Afghanistan or Iraq.

“Many times during our monthly luncheon, this cause has been brought up,” says Hudson. “Others just learn about it through word-of-mouth. I’ve been surprised by the number of people who do help out.”

In addition to donating items, chapter members such as Col. Al Gozur, USAF-Ret., have taken time to visit with injured troops, who often get bored or restless between bouts of physical therapy. According to Gozur, this is particularly true among servicemembers who don’t have a family member in the area.

“If the soldier’s family is there, it’s great,” says Gozur. “But even if their family is in the area, the soldier might spend the better part of the day without them because their wife is at work or their kids are in school.”

Chapter President Col. Ed McCarthy, USAF-Ret., says chapter members currently are working with other area military and veterans’ groups and service organizations so they can collect more goods for injured troops. Hudson also is contacting area business owners to see if they would be willing to donate goods or services to servicemembers’ families who have decided to relocate to San Antonio while their loved ones are undergoing treatment.