| Hometown | Civilian Occupations |
| Wilmington, Delaware | Apprentice printer and metal fabricator |
| Branch | Service Numbers |
| U.S. Army Air Forces | Enlisted 12012815 / O-748984 |
| Theater | Unit |
| American (Zone of Interior) | Third Air Force Staging Wing |
Early Life & Family
John F. Hudson, Jr., was born on October 25, 1920, at No. 12 Persimmon Apartments, at the corner of 29th and Market Streets in Wilmington, Delaware. He was the eldest child of John F. Hudson, Sr. (1894–1959) and Nancy E. Hudson (née Hardin, 1897–1996). His father was a railroad fireman who had served in the U.S. Army during World War I. Hudson had two younger sisters and two younger brothers.
By August 11, 1922, when his younger sister, Marie Teresa Hudson (1922–2009), was born, the family had moved to a rowhome at 103 North Franklin Street in Wilmington. Hudson’s father had previously lived there with his parents and siblings prior to World War I, and briefly after returning from the service. It appears that the younger Hudson also lived at that address with his family until he entered the military himself.
The Wilmington Morning News reported that “Hudson attended Brown Vocational High School and Wilmington High School.”
When Hudson was recorded on the census on April 8, 1940, he was described as a high school graduate working as an apprentice printer. His father’s statement for the State of Delaware Public Archives Commission stated that Hudson was a metal fabricator before entering the service, while his enlistment data card described his occupation as “semiskilled construction.” The Wilmington Morning News reported that Hudson “was employed as an apprentice printer and metal fabricator before entering the Army.” Other articles in the same paper stated: “He was for a number of years a member of Boy Scout Troop 30, affiliated with St. Paul’s Catholic Church” and “was formerly employed in the mechanical department of the Journal-Every Evening.”
When Hudson registered for the draft on February 16, 1942—the day before he enlisted—he was working for Westinghouse Electric in Essington, Pennsylvania. The registrar described him as standing five feet, 9½ inches tall and weighing 153 lbs., with brown hair and gray eyes. Hudson was Catholic.
Military Career
Hudson volunteered for the U.S. Army, enlisting in Wilmington on February 17, 1942. According to his father’s statement, Private Hudson attended basic training at Camp Croft, South Carolina. It appears that he initially served as an infantryman. A news item printed in Journal-Every Evening on March 4, 1942, suggests he may have initially volunteered to become a paratrooper: “He enlisted in the parachute battalion, and spent a week at Camp Dix before going to [Camp Croft] last week.” The American airborne force was very small at that time, and it is unclear if Hudson ever began airborne training.
Regardless, by early 1943 he had transferred to the U.S. Army Air Forces for pilot training. Hudson’s father’s statement indicates that his son completed his primary pilot training at Oxnard, California. The Wilmington Morning News reported on April 23, 1943, that Hudson had completed his basic pilot training at Gardner Field, California. Hudson completed his advanced pilot training at Williams Field, Arizona. He became a rated pilot on June 22, 1943, and was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant.
The Wilmington Morning News reported on September 10, 1943, that Lieutenant Hudson was home on leave. That summer or fall, he may have completed transition pilot training—to become qualified as a twin-engine bomber pilot—at La Junta, Colorado. His father wrote that Lieutenant Hudson was then assigned to Columbia, South Carolina, for crew training.
Shortly before Christmas 1943, Hudson was stationed at Hunter Field, Georgia, where he was assigned to the Third Air Force Staging Wing during combat crew training. He was the lead pilot on a five-man crew, flying the North American B-25 Mitchell. In the 90 days leading up to his death, Lieutenant Hudson was credited with 66 hours, 50 minutes of flight time as lead pilot.
At 0955 hours Eastern War Time on December 20, 1943, Lieutenant Hudson and his crew took off from Hunter Field aboard a B-25D (serial number 43-3292) for a local training flight. According to the crash investigation committee’s report,
At approximately 1030 EWT the Operations Officer at Hunter Field, Georgia, received a long distance telephone call from Mr. Roger P. Youmans, stating that he had seen an airplane explode in mid-air about 25 miles south of Savannah, Georgia. The Operations Officer at Hunter Field, Georgia, contacted the Base Operations Officer at Harris Neck, Georgia, and was advised that he had also received the same report and had dispatched crash crews, ambulance, etc.
Rescuers found no survivors. Investigators suggested that the plane disintegrated in midair but could offer little additional insight into the crash:
As there was no sign of fire, it must be assumed that the airplane did not explode. The plane was scattered over a large area and was in such condition that it is impossible for this committee to determine the cause of the accident.
The Wilmington Morning News reported on December 21, 1943, that Hudson’s “parents were notified of the death in a telephone call from another officer at the field.”
After services at the Mealey Funeral Home at 703 North Broom Street and requiem mass at St. Paul’s Church on December 27, 1943, Lieutenant Hudson was buried at nearby Cathedral Cemetery. His parents and sister, Marie, were also buried there after their deaths. Hudson is honored at Veterans Memorial Park in New Castle, Delaware.
Crew of B-25D 43-3292 on December 20, 1943
The following list is adopted from “Report of Aircraft Accident 44-12-20-19,” with grade, name, service number, and position. It corrects a minor error in Sergeant Spinella’s service number present in the original report.
2nd Lieutenant John F. Hudson, Jr., O-748984 (pilot)
2nd Lieutenant John A. Walker, O-681842 (copilot)
Staff Sergeant Charles G. Lyzbicki, 33251520 (radio operator)
Sergeant Joseph P. Torrisi, 12162309 (flight engineer)
Sergeant Samuel J. Spinella, 38223436 (gunner)
Notes
Middle Name
Hudson’s birth certificate and draft card spell his middle name as Frederick. On the other hand, his father’s statement to the State of Delaware Public Archives Commission spells it as Fredrick.
Transition Training
The location of Hudson’s transition training is unclear. His father’s statement described “Post graduate” training at “La Heurta Field Col.” This may refer to La Junta, Colorado, site of a twin-engine flying school.
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Lieutenant Hudson’s sister, Bess Hudson LeNoir, and to the Delaware Public Archives for the use of their photos.
Bibliography
“2Lt. John Frederick Hudson Jr.” Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/51180773/john-frederick-hudson
Delaware War History Records, 1917–1919. Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Delaware. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSYY-G883
Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Record Group 29, Records of the Bureau of the Census. National Archives at Washington, D.C. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6224/images/4531894_00853
Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. Record Group 29, Records of the Bureau of the Census. National Archives at Washington, D.C. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6061/images/4295771-00580
Hudson, John F., Sr. John Fredrick Hudson Jr. Individual Military Service Record, c. 1945. Record Group 1325-003-053, Record of Delawareans Who Died in World War II. Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Delaware. https://cdm16397.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15323coll6/id/19262/rec/1
John Frederick Hudson, Jr. birth certificate. Record Group 1500-008-094, Birth certificates. Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Delaware. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-D4WS-4F7
“Joins Parachutists.” Journal-Every Evening, March 4, 1942. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117856701/hudson-airborne/
“Lieut. J. F. Hudson, Jr., Killed in Plane Crash.” Wilmington Morning News, December 21, 1943. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117858663/john-f-hudson-killed-in-crash/
“Lieut. John F. Hudson.” Journal-Every Evening, December 22, 1943. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117857036/john-f-hudson-obit/
Longeway, Forrest H., Salvatore, Alexander R., and Amos, Harvey A. “Report of Aircraft Accident 44-12-20-19.” Reel 46298. Courtesy of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
Marie Teresa Hudson birth certificate. Record Group 1500-008-094, Birth certificates. Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Delaware. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DYQ9-SR3
Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Record Group 29, Records of the Bureau of the Census. National Archives at Washington, D.C. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/m-t0627-00552-00745
“With the Service Men And The Auxiliaries.” Wilmington Morning News, April 23, 1943. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117858174/hudson-finished-basic-flying/
“With the Service Men And The Auxiliaries.” Wilmington Morning News, June 29, 1943. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117857678/john-hudson-commissioned/
“With the Service Men And The Auxiliaries.” Wilmington Morning News, September 10, 1943. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117860241/hudson-leave/
World War II Army Enlistment Records. Record Group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives at College Park, Maryland. https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=1&cat=all&tf=F&q=12012815&bc=&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=483992
WWII Draft Registration Cards for Delaware, 10/16/1940–3/31/1947. Record Group 147, Records of the Selective Service System. National Archives at St. Louis, Missouri. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2238/images/44003_09_00005-00334
Last updated on March 18, 2023
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