Cecil J. Hodgson

Service & Sacrifice

Master Sergeant Cecil J. Hodgson served with Detachment B-52, Project Delta, 5th Special Forces Group. He was assigned to Recon Team ROADRUNNER during Operation 2-66 in the An Lao Valley.

On January 29, 1966, after two days of enemy contact, RT ROADRUNNER was engaged by a superior Viet Cong force and the team was forced to split into two groups to evade. MSG Hodgson was part of a three-man element that came under fire from seven Viet Cong soldiers at extremely close range.

During the firefight, the other two Americans in his group were hit. SSG Frank Badolati suffered a severe arm wound that would prove fatal, and SSG Ronald Terry was struck and killed. MSG Hodgson, armed with a 9mm pistol, was last seen within arm's reach of his teammates as the engagement continued at near point-blank range.

Four days of aerial searches found no trace of MSG Hodgson. He was classified as Missing in Action. Intelligence sources have suggested he may have been captured, though this has never been confirmed. He remains unaccounted for. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.