General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

John Reed Hodge (June 12, 1893 – November 12, 1963) was a highly decorated senior officer of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

. His final assignment before retiring was as Chief of Army Field Forces from 1952 to 1953.

Early life and career

Born in

Golconda, Illinois Golconda is a city in and the county seat of Pope County, Illinois, Pope County, Illinois, United States, located along the Ohio River. The population was 630 at the 2020 census. Most of the city is part of the Golconda Historic District. History ...

, Hodge attended Southern Illinois Teachers College and the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...

. After completing an officer indoctrination program at the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School at Fort Sheridan, he received a

direct commission A direct commission officer (DCO) is a United States uniformed officer who has received an appointed commission without the typical prerequisites for achieving a commission, such as attending a four-year service academy, a four-year or two-year ...

in the Army as an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army unt ...

in 1917. He served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

Between the wars

Remaining in the Army following the end of the war, he taught military science at Mississippi State University from 1921 to 1925 and graduated from the Infantry School in 1926. After a posting to Hawaii, he graduated from the

Command and General Staff School The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

, the Army War College, and the

Air Corps Tactical School The Air Corps Tactical School, also known as ACTS and "the Tactical School", was a military professional development school for officers of the United States Army Air Service and United States Army Air Corps, the first such school in the world. C ...

World War II

At the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Hodge served as chief of staff of the

VII Corps 7th Corps, Seventh Corps, or VII Corps may refer to: * VII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I * VII R ...

under the command of Major General

Robert C. Richardson Jr. Robert Charlwood Richardson Jr. (October 27, 1882 – March 2, 1954) was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on October 27, 1882, and was admitted as a cadet at the United States Military Academy on June 19, 1900. His military career spanned the ...

, located in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

as a part of the Western Defense Command. He was promoted to the temporary rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

in June 1942 and transferred to the 25th Infantry Division in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, where he was appointed assistant division commander and deputy of Major General

J. Lawton Collins General Joseph Lawton Collins (May 1, 1896 – September 12, 1987) was a senior United States Army officer. During World War II, he served in both the Pacific and European Theaters of Operations, one of a few senior American commanders to do so. ...

. The 25th Division was sent overseas to

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the se ...

in November 1942. Hodge stayed with 25th Division until April 1943, when he was promoted to the rank of major general and transferred to the temporary command of the 43rd Infantry Division, where he relieved Major General John H. Hester, who was exhausted from combat. Hodge commanded the 43rd Division during the combats in Northern Solomons and was decorated with the

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. Th ...

for his service. After three months of service with 43rd Division, Hodge was given command of the "Americal" Infantry Division on the

Fiji Islands Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

. He subsequently commanded the Americal Division during the Bougainville campaign. Hodge was appointed commanding officer of the newly activated XXIV Corps in Hawaii and participated in the Battle of Leyte within Philippines Campaign and later in

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

. He received Army Distinguished Service Medals for each of these campaigns. Hodge was promoted to the temporary rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

in June 1945.

Later career

From 1945 to 1948, Hodge was the commanding general of United States Army Forces in Korea (USAFIK). He took his corps to Korea under orders of

General MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was ...

, landing at

Incheon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

on 9 September 1945. He was the commanding officer receiving the surrender of all Japanese forces in Korea south of the 38th parallel. Hodge then returned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to command V US Corps from 1948 to 1950. After the outbreak of the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

in 1950, he was named the commanding general of the US Third Army, based in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

, and not in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

. Hodge was promoted to

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

on 5 July 1952. His final assignment was as Chief of Army Field Forces from 8 May 1952 until he retired from military service on June 30, 1953. General Hodge died in Washington, D.C. in 1963.

Decorations

Dates of rank

References

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodge, John R. 1893 births 1963 deaths United States Army Infantry Branch personnel People from Golconda, Illinois Military personnel from Illinois University of Illinois alumni Southern Illinois University alumni Air Corps Tactical School alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army War College alumni United States Army personnel of World War I Korea–United States relations Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Air Medal Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Army generals of World War II United States Army generals Mississippi State University faculty