William H. Hodson

1922-2025

A stubborn man, no one ever changed the mind of William Hodson, and yet, everyone loved him for it. He served his country as a US Marine pilot in World War II, and lost two airplanes while in aerial combat, earning him a special membership in the Golden Caterpillar Club – a lighthearted honor of some distinction reserved for pilots who lost two or more airplanes. He carried the little gold caterpillar pin in his wallet for 50 years.

On a more serious note, William also received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his bravery in the sky over the Pacific Theatre. He was a proud member of The Greatest Generation.

William Hodson was born December 25, 1922 and died just 60 days before his 103rd birthday, October 28, 2025. He died of natural causes.

Born in Kansas City, Missouri to Arthur Scott Hodson and Bonney Winter, William’s family descended from Scottish heritage, arriving in this country in the early 1800s from England and Scotland. They settled in the Midwest as farmers and, generation after generation proudly plowed the earth and fed those around them.

They struggled during the Great Depression, as did everyone. His mother died when he was only five years old, and William had to grow up fast. During the Great Depression he worked at a very early age to help support his family, delivering newspapers at the age of 10. Then, as William was working his way through high school, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, launching this country into war.

William attended CK McClatchy High School in Sacramento. He was too young to enlist in the military, but his love for flight manifested itself in the form of personal flying lessons. In the summer of ’42, at the age of 19, William enlisted in the Marine Corps as a young man with hundreds of flight hours already under his belt.

After his first year as a Marine pilot (flying Corsairs), he flew several missions with Charles Lindbergh as his wingman. Lindbergh had served as technical advisor on the Corsair’s design. He was on assignment touring the South Pacific as an aviation consultant at the time. William also flew with the legendary Joe Foss, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, during the Guadalcanal campaign.

Son James tells a story about his father’s first meeting with Lindbergh. “My father met Mr. Lindbergh for the first time when they were training to go to the South Pacific in Santa Barbara, 1943. My father's engine quit out over the Pacific one day, and they gave him the option to bail out over the ocean, or return to base and attempt a dead stick landing. My father decided he just didn't want to get wet, and chose to take his chances bringing the sick bird back to the base.

“The Corsair had a 17-foot propeller on it -- very large for a fighter plane for its time. A lot of pilots had tried to land the Corsair dead stick but when the prop hits the ground it would flip the plane over. Most pilots never made it out alive.

“My father told me that he thought about it on his way back to the base and figured he would take the prop out of full pitch and employ a modest rotation on it just before he hit the ground. That little bit of rotation on the prop saved his life. The next morning Charles Lindbergh wanted to talk to my father to pick his brain about how he put that all together and made the perfect dead stick landing in a plane that, up until that point in time, had the reputation of killing a lot of pilots.”

After the war, William Hodson remained active with squadron reunions and kept in touch with his squadron mates throughout his remaining years, attending reunions whenever possible.

Upon his death, his family realized that their father was the last surviving member of Squadron VMF-115. Originally, they were called “Joe’s Jokers,” after their heroic squadron leader, Joe Foss, who was the leading Marine fighter Ace in WWII, having shot down 26 Japanese aircraft in just over two months. The squadron eventually became known as “The Silver Eagles.”

After the war, he obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Plant Science from the University of California, Davis. For his wartime service, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, as well as medals for the “American Campaign” and “Asiatic Pacific Campaign.” William Hodson retired from the Marine Corps at the rank of Major. His family proudly noted that his love for the military never waned throughout his long life.

In civilian life, he worked for the Spreckels Sugar Company. He also worked for the Beta Seed Corporation for 20 years selling sugar beet seed until his retirement at the age of 89. During this time, he became a 32nd Degree Mason and an active member of the Masonic Lodge.

“Dad enjoyed life to fullest and never met a stranger,” recalled his son Bill. “He would stop and visit with anyone, and was a great storyteller. Most of his stories were quite humorous, and he had a great sense of humor. The three words that best sum up my father are, ‘Honesty, humility, and toughness.’”

Hodson called many places “home.” He lived in Kansas City, MO, Sacramento, Davis, Visalia, El Centro, Brawley, Woodland, and Tacna, AZ. A passionate huntsman, he hunted Elk, deer, ducks, and pheasants, and loved his hunting dogs. He made regular fishing trips to Jackson Hole, Wyoming until he was 90 years old. He played golf until he was 100.

Since his early childhood, William had a fascination and fondness for Lionel O-Gage trains. His home contained a hand-made railroad table, complete with mountains, rivers, bridges, churches, shops, homes, livestock, trees, and people. The train table was able to run six trains at once. He spent thousands of hours and thousands of dollars on train engines and building his collection. Eventually he had to build an add-on to his garage dedicated entirely to his passion for model trains.

William Hodson was preceded in death by his sister, Katherine, and his first wife, Marjorie June Hodson (Watson). He was also preceded in death by his second wife, Dorothy Hodson. He is survived by his companion, Joyce Kerns, of Tacna, AZ. He is also survived by his three sons, whom he loved very much -- Richard (Robin) of Escondido; William (Mary) of Eloy, AZ; and James (Jeannine) of Encino, CA. He leaves behind four grandchildren, four great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews, whom he dearly loved.