Fred Hudgeons was born in Gallup, New Mexico in 1944. In 1957 his family moved to Grant, NM and Fred went through Junior High School there. They moved again, to Santa Fe, and he was in High School there when Santa Fe celebrated the 350th anniversary of its establishment as a villa by Spanish officials in 1610 (making Santa Fe the oldest capital city in America ). Part of that celebration included a company of paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division jumping in at the local airport. Fred was there and he was impressed. Later he got his parents to sign a consent form so he could enlist in the Army. He signed up, unit of choice, 101st Airborne Division. Still only...
Patriot Stories from the United States Navy
EDSELL H. (ED) LONG
Edsell H. Long was born in Parkin, Arkansas in 1925. His mother died when he was five years old and sometime around 1932 his family moved to Paris, Texas for a year and then moved again, to Mesa, Arizona. He had a childhood friend at school named Ben Gregory, but, times were hard and after 7th Grade Edsell left school for whatever work could be had. Later he left home at age 15. Eventually, he got a good job at Luke Field in Arizona and had been working there as a government employee for about a year when his draft call came. His supervisor was prepared to put in a deferment from the draft, but Edsell told him not to do so, if it was his turn to serve, then he was ready to...
JOHN STAVAST
John is a veteran of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. His experiences could fill a book, but, this article will only detail one very moving experience that he had in France with the infantry in WWII, and a few facts about his nearly 6 years as a POW during the war in Vietnam. Much additional information can be found about him on the internet and from numerous books about Vietnam POWs. Our immediate Past Chapter Commander, John E. Stavast passed away Sunday, July 4, 2004. John Stavast was born in Denver in 1926. His family had moved to Pueblo, Colorado and he was attending high school when he enlisted in the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program, entering active duty March 20, 1944....
HARRY G. DAVES, JR.
Harry Daves, Jr. was born in 1923 in San Bernardino, California. His family moved to Pelly, Texas (now known as Baytown) when he was a child. He attended school at Robert E. Lee High School in Baytown and tried to enlist when Pearl Harbor was attacked. He was underage at the time and his father refused to give his consent. When the Cruiser, Houston, was sunk off the Java coast in early 1942, Harrys father relented and he immediately signed up and went into the Navy. . After basic training, diesel engine school and gunners training, Harry Daves, Jr. reported to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he was assigned to LCI 48 upon its commissioning in February 1943. The LCIs...
MELFRED FORSMAN – NAVY – WWII
Few veterans of any service in any war have endured the extreme cruelty and brutality of the Japanese POW camps and yet survived to share their story. This was Melfreds experience. On April 18, 1939, Melfred Forsman left his home in Iowa Falls and enlisted in the Navy at Des Moines, Iowa. After training as a Seaman at Great Lakes, Illinois, he was assigned to duty aboard the Cruiser, USS Houston; which at that time was flagship of the "Asiatic Fleet" in Manila. At the outbreak of WWII, the Houston was one of the few warships deployed to confront the Japanese advance and it fought in the Battle of the Java Sea in February 1942. Soon afterward, Houston, in company with the...
STEVE CONDITT
This Navy WWII veteran survived the sinking of the Cruiser, ASTORIA in the battle of Savo Island, off Guadalcanal. Later, Steve served with distinction aboard the new Cruiser SANTA FE. He then traveled and made public speeches in War Bond Drives with the famous screen actor, Cesar Romero, whom he greatly admired. Postwar, he was a foreman for Bill Milburn Homes, helping make them the biggest homebuilder in Austin. Until Steves death in 1999 he treasured the many personal correspondences that he had exchanged with Cesar Romero through the years. Here is Steves story. Lyster S. (Steve) Conditt was born in Hillsboro, Texas in 1919. His family moved to Austin where Steve...
HARRY A. SWAN
Harry Swan was born in Passaic, New Jersey, in 1921, and he grew up there. He was inducted into the Army at Newark on February 20, 1943. He stood six-foot-two, weighed in at 195 pounds, and was a hard as nails twenty one year old. The Army thought he would make a good paratrooper and Harry volunteered. He soon found himself in training at Camp Macall, North Carolina. The paratroops were considered experimental until 1941, so the Airborne was still very much in its infancy at that time. Harry was assigned to Company G of the newly created 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 11th Airborne Division and he went through the rigorous training program with them. The unit...