Ralph Hodge
Bio
Ralph Hodge enlisted in the U.S. Army on March 12, 1951, while still in college on a basketball scholarship. He wanted to serve in the infantry, so he was sent to Ft. Ord, CA, for basic training. Before arriving at Ft. Ord, it was decided that the army would open a training center in Hawaii, where he was sent. He attended advanced leadership training at Ft. Indiantown Gap, PA. Upon arrival in Korea, he became part of a replacement unit for the 2nd Infantry Division which suffered severe casualties on Heartbreak Ridge. His arrival marked the first integration of this unit. After spending time in the Iron Triangle, his unit was sent to Koje-Do Island to guard the more than one hundred sixty thousand prisoners of war being held there. Ultimately, he returned to the front lines and was involved in the Battle of Pork Chop Hill. Upon his return to the U.S. after the Korean War, he took advantage of a sports scholarship and the GI Bill to earn a civil engineering degree. Missing military life, he would join the Air Force ROTC and see action in Vietnam. Upon returning stateside following his service in the Vietnam War, he attended the National Defense University. He would manage Andrews Air Force Base, including the presidential fleet, and be assigned to the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Video Clips
Growing up in a Segregated America
Ralph Hodge joined the U.S. Army on March 12, 1951. He jokingly admits he liked the stylish uniforms and wanted to "fight" a war. He shares his recollections of growing up in a segregated community and the impact it had on his life.
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Arrival in Korea
Ralph Hodge vividly details his trip from Ft. Lawton, WA, to Seoul beginning shortly after Thanksgiving 1951. He recalls the fourteen awful days and nights aboard ship which included traveling through three or four typhoons. He notes how when they arrive in Yokohama, Japan, on December 7, 1951, they wrote their wills before heading to Sasebo and onto Pusan. He shares it was in Pusan that he was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division, 38th Regiment, Company B Mortar Platoon as a replacement. He recounts his early experiences in country.
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Life on the Front Lines
Ralph Hodge notes how his arrival to the front marked the first real integration of his unit and how he did not remember anyone that was not glad to see them. His shares his unit was sent to the front to replace a unit of Turks who had seen fierce fighting. He offers a detailed account of the challenges of surviving the cold on the front line.
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Suffering All Around
Ralph Hodge notes there was suffering all around in Korea. He recalls soldiers suffered from frost bite and trench foot. He shares how showers were few and far between for soldiers on the front line. He explains suffering was not limited to the soldiers. He adds the Korean people suffered severely as well. He recounts an occasion when a little boy tried to sell his grandma to the soldiers for food or money.
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Guarding Prisoners at Geojedo
Ralph Hodge shares he soon found himself among the soldiers whose duty it was to guard the one hundred sixty thousand North Korean and Chinese prisoners on Geojedo Island. He offers details of the prison camp. He recalls the inside of the camp being a "beehive of discontent," so much so that the United Nations and the Red Cross encouraged the soldiers not to go into the compounds.
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They were Ready for War
Ralph Hodge shares the errors the United States military made in dealing with those held in Geojedo and the dangers which resulted. He recalls a Brigadier General being held for two days. He estimates there were only ten thousand troops guarding the one hundred sixty thousand prisoners. He offers details of how the discontent within the prison led to danger for the guards.
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We Sensed Something was Wrong
Ralph Hodge remembers sensing something was wrong on May Day. He recalls how the morning started with a parade. He notes how things changed when Brigadier General Haydon L. Boatner took command of Geojedo. He remembers that among the changes were constructing new, smaller compounds and relocating the prisoners to these smaller compounds.
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Most Dangerous Place in the World
Ralph Hodge explains he returned to the front line following his days at Geojedo. He remembers he was assigned to Company C in what he references as the most dangerous place in the world. He details his injuries suffered as a result of a mistaken identity. He shares he received a Purple Heart fifty-two years after the event.
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Pork Chop Hill
Ralph Hodge details how he and his unit came under fire on Pork Chop Hill on September 16th, 1953. He recalls the location was key in protecting the city of Seoul. He remembers being pinned down by wave after wave of Chinese descending on the hill and shares American casualties were devastatingly high.
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Segregated Unit?
Ralph Hodge recounts returning to the United States after serving about a year in Korea. He shares he was assigned to the 522nd Infantry at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. He recounts how, while there, he trained artillery officer candidates. He explains that at the time, his unit was an all-black organization with white officers. He remembers how, on one occasion, he met with the general in charge of Ft. Sill and told the general about the all-black unit. He shares the general had no idea, so he was sent to Ft. Sill to address his experience at Ft. Sill with the staff there.
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Meeting Colin Powel
Ralph Hodge shares he was appointed by General Jones to serve as Jones's Equal Opportunity Officer for all of Europe. He details how during his time in the service after Korea, he had the opportunity to meet and work with some of the most decorated members of the military. He notes that among those was Colin Powell whom he had the privilege to attend the pinning ceremony as full colonel. He adds Powell would later go on to become a four-star general, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the first African-American Secretary of State.
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