Honoring an American hero on the anniversary of WWII D-Day: From a tiny town in America to a tiny town in France The tiny town in America is Reynolds, Georgia, where my maternal families, Hinton and Hodges, are from. The tiny town in France is Rouy-le-Petit. The hero was Lt. Benjamin Hodges, my mothers dear cousin who was like a brother to her and to her brother Pat Hodges. In WWII my uncle Pat Hodges was in the Navy in a PT-Boat in the South Pacific. Benjamins brother Walton Hodges, Jr, was also in the Pacific, flying torpedo planes off aircraft carriers. Pat Hodges and Walton Hodges came home after the war. Cousin Benjamin Hodges was in the Army in Europe flying a P-47 Thunderbolt on a dangerous mission to knock-out German V-1 rockets based in western France. On June 20, 1944, just two weeks after D-Day, Benjamin was shot down in a dogfight with 5 enemy Messerschmitts, defending the tiny village of Rouy-le-Petit. His plane went down in a marsh just outside the village, and there his body lies with his plane. They recovered only his foot and his boots...his foot is buried under the marker in the American Cemetery in St Laurent, Normandy, France; his boots are buried with the Hodges family in the cemetery in Reynolds. In 2006 some of my cousins went to France to visit Benjamins grave and to the village of Rouy-le-Petit, where they were greeted with much warmth and learned that this village considers Lt. Benjamin Hodges their hero. In fact they were planning a permanent memorial to honor him. On May 5, 2012, they had a dedication ceremony. My cousin Gene Hodges, Benjamins nephew, who now lives in the house in Reynolds where Benjamin grew up, sent this letter on behalf of the Hodges family to the village mayor to be read at the ceremony: Dear Monsieur Salome, If you could be so kind as to read the following few words from our family at the unveiling of the memorial to my Uncle, Benjamin Hodges. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On June 20, 1944, Benjamin Hodges met his fate over a small village in France whose name no one here had ever known. You have chosen to honor him with this magnificent memorial so that future generations will know of the sacrifices that so many made for them. Words cannot express how much this memorial to his memory means to all of us. We thank you, the people of Rouy-Le-Petit, and all who have made this possible. Rouy-Le-Petit is now a small village in France that we will never forget. You have touched our hearts. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- With Kindest Regards, Eugene Walton Hodges, III Last night (June 5, 2014) on Georgia Public Televisions show On The Story, they told the story of Benjamin Hodges and his heroic sacrifice. My mother still talks about him...she and Uncle Pat, as were so many people here, were heartbroken when he was lost. Rest In Peace, Lt. Benjamin Hodges. We will never forget.
Posted on: Fri, 06 Jun 2014 13:27:21 +0000
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