Dale C. Hudson - An Iowa D-Day Hero PFC Dale C. Hudson of Aredale was among the very first Americans to launch the historic attack on June 6, 1944. He was part of a small pathfinder unit that parachuted into the Normandy area at 0100 hours to mark the drop zones for his fellow soldiers in the 82nd Airborne Division. He was awarded the Bronze Star for “gallantry in action” for his actions. Ten days later on June 16th he was involved in an intense firefight. On two occasions he made himself a target to enemy fire to allow other members of his squad to deploy and destroy critical gun pit positions. While the tactic was successful, the action cost Dale Hudson his life. He was awarded the Silver Star for “exceptional gallantry.” The awards were posthumously presented to his father, Oscar Hudson, at the Algona POW camp in September, 1944. Thank you to the Hass family for providing the photos for this project.
Posted on: Fri, 06 Jun 2014 14:22:43 +0000