HUDGINS SETH F

COL Seth F Hudgins was a VHPA member who died after his tour in Vietnam on 02/08/2014 at the age of 72.5 from Cancer
Cornwall, NY
Flight Class 69-28
Date of Birth 08/24/1941
Served in the U.S. Army
Served in Vietnam with A/2/17 CAV 101 ABN in 69-70, D/158 AVN 101 ABN in 70
Call signs in Vietnam BLACKWATCH 36, REDSKIN 6
This information was provided by SSN search July 2014

More detail on this person: SETH F. HUDGINS, JR COL (Ret.) Seth F. Hudgins, Jr., USMA Class of 1964, passed away on Saturday, February 8, 2014 at home, after a lengthy courageous fight with cancer. He was the son of the late Seth Foster Hudgins, Sr. and Dorothy Duval Hudson Hudgins and was born in Fort Jay, NY on August 24, 1941. After serving 26 years in the U.S. Army, including two combat tours in Vietnam, he retired at West Point in 1990 and became the President of the West Point Association of Graduates for the next 17 years, finally retiring in 2007. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Joy Schelhammer Hudgins, at home, and their sons: CDR (Ret.) Seth F. Hudgins, III, USN, and his wife, Jennifer of Cudjoe Key, FL, Lance T. Hudgins and his wife, Melissa and two sons: Max and Walker of Virginia Beach, VA, and their daughter, Meredith H. Snizek and her husband, Stephen and three children: Emma, Ethan and Evelyn of London, England. There will be no visitation. Cremation will take place at Cedar Hill Crematory, Middle Hope, NY. A Funeral Service will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, February 14th, in the Old Cadet Chapel, Washington Road, West Point, NY, followed by inurnment in Post Cemetery, West Point. In lieu of flowers, please make donations in memory of Seth F. Hudgins, Jr. to the West Point Association of Graduates, 698 Mills Road, West Point, NY 10996, www.westpointaog.org ; or Hospice of Orange and Sullivan Counties, Inc., 800 Stony Brook Court, Newburgh, NY 12550; www.hospiceoforange.com Funeral arrangements are being handled by William F. Hogan Funeral Home, Highland Falls, NY COL Seth Foster Hudgins, Jr. USA (Retired) After a long and courageous battle with cancer, Colonel Seth F. Hudgins, Jr., passed away on Saturday, February 8th, 2014. West Point's 57th Superintendent, Lt. Gen. "Buster" Hagenbeck was quoted as saying, "Seth Hudgins labored nearly three decades in and out of uniform to keep the academy as one of the nation's finest universities" and added "He's a great team-builder and communicator and we will always be proud of everything he did for West Point," Col Hudgins was a AH-1 Cobra Pilot in Vietnam. His first tour in Viet Nam was with the 17th Cavalry, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Divison in 1965-66. He served as the Company Commander, 158th Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division, Republic of Vietnam 1969-70. While with the 3rd Platoon, A Troop, 2/17th Cavalry, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Vietnam Recon Scouts mounted their machine gun jeeps and rushed to the aid of engineers of the 101st Airborne who were under fire from a company of North Vietnamese. About 16 men under the command of Lieutenant Seth Hudgins (now Colonel, Ret.) dismounted and with 4 machine guns engaged in battle with the enemy. Outnumbered 50 to 1, they fought for 5 hours before 1st and 2nd Platoons of about 40 men each reinforced them. Four hours later the 502nd and 327th Infantry began arriving by air to reinforce them. Among his Awards and Medals were the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bronze Star Medal. He received a Air Medal with V Device for the above action, and his unit received the Valorous Unit Award, which is the second highest unit decoration which may be bestowed upon a U.S. Army unit (the highest being the Presidential Unit Citation) and is considered the unit equivalent of the Silver Star. Colonel Hudgins was with the Tactical Department at United States Military Academy in 1972-75. He was the Chief of Staff, United States Corps of Cadets in 1986, and was the Deputy Commandant of Cadets 1987-89. He retired from the Army as a Colonel in 1990. Colonel Hudgins served as the Executive Vice President of the Association of Graduates 1990-93; and as the President of the Association of Graduates, a position from which he retired in 2007. He served 17 years with the Association of Graduates, and oversaw the Development Office's planning and execution of the association's bicentennial campaign. That campaign raised more than $200 million and the money, in large measure, went to meet the academy's "Margin of Excellence" needs. Colonel Hudgins is survived by his wife Joy, two sons, a daughter and many grandchildren. Colonel Hudgins will be buried at West Point. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to AOG's Long Gray Line Fund or to The Hospice of Orange and Sullivan Counties, NY.

Burial information: United States Military Academy Post Cemetery, West Point, NY

This information was last updated 09/18/2018

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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024


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