HUDSON, HENRY M.

Name: Henry M. Hudson
Branch/Rank: CIVILIAN
Unit:
Date of Birth: 09 MAR 1908 (deceased 07 feb 1998)
Home City of Record: Mecklenburg VA
Date of Loss: 20-December-65
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 105703  North  1064420 East
Status (in 1973): Esacapee
Category:
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Auto
Missions:
Other Personnel in Incident: Otto Shutton/Shulton/Schulten/Scholton; Edwin D
Jones; Chung Can Xoung
Refno: 0214

Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw
data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA
families, published sources, interviews and CACCF = Combined Action
Combat Casualty File.

REMARKS: JCRC says "Rescued"

(NYT, (2 articles), 21 &22 Dec 1965 - "GI's rescue 3 civilians kidnapped
(sic) by Vietcong", "US Civilian tells of his rescue from Vietcong").

Here's an ovreview of the articles:

Just before Christmas Day, 1965, four RMK-BRJ (Navy contractor) employees -
Americans Hank Hudson and Edwin Jones, along with Otto Shulton (a Hollander
by birth who became a naturalized Canadian citizen) and their Vietnamese
driver, Chung Can Xoung, went to inspect a rock quarry just north of Saigon.
Near the village of Dian they stopped to examine the rocky edge of a wooded
area when three heavily armed VC appeared out of nowherer and captured them.
After confiscating their shoes and giving them sandals, their captors led
them into the jungle toward Cambodia, passing the 4 POW's from one group of
soldiers to the next in a relay-like system.  The prisoners walked for
approximately twenty miles along various trails that day.

While heading down a deserted road just after midnight, the VC party of 25
soldiers encountered an American First Infantry Division (Big Red One)
patrol unit - an element of the 2nd Bn, 16th Inf Reg, under the command of
1LT George Steinberg.  A 20-minute firefight ensued.  Hudson, Jones, and
Chung safely dove into a ditch, but Shulton died in the hail of bullets.
The two American prisoners later reported that the Canadian had been shot in
the back by one of the guerrilla guards.  he VC soon slipped away leaving
their  tied-up captives behind.  When Hudson overheard the platoon commander
calling in a mortar barrage, he cried out to identify himself as an
American.  After correctly answering questions about California's geography
and the most recent World Series winners to h elp prove it, the US forces
recovered the three surviving employees.

Hudson, a 25-year construction veteran, had worked on dams and airfields in
Afghanistan, Venezuela, and Morocco before going to Vietnam in 1961.  He was
RMK's General Manager at the time of this incident.

No further information available at this time.