Courtney Hodges

Common card · No. 202103

Courtney Hicks Hodges (5 January 1887 – 16 January 1966) was a senior officer in the United States Army who commanded the First U.S. Army in the Western European Campaign of World War II. Hodges was a "mustang" officer, rising from private to general. Born in Perry, Georgia, he initially enrolled at the United States Military Academy to become a commissioned officer but was dismissed after failing geometry. He joined the U.S. Army in 1906 as an enlisted serviceman, becoming a non-commissioned officer and later obtained a commission after passing an examination in 1909. Hodges served under John J. Pershing in the Pancho Villa Expedition and took part in the first rescue mission in U.S. military aviation history when he helped save a stranded aviator. He was a battalion commander in France during World War I and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions. In 1943, he was posted to England to serve under General Omar Bradley. Hodges was initially the deputy commander of the...

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