If you have any questions, additional biographical information, personal remembrances, or photographs you would like to contribute, please contact the History Project Manager via this Email Link.

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They Say, our deaths are not ours, they are yours, they will mean what you make of them. They say, we leave you our deaths, give them some meaning. Archibald MacLeish poet and WWI veteran.

During the morning hours of 16 April 2005, PFC Aaron M. Hudson age 20, of Highland Village, Texas, was the gunner in his MP team assigned as the rear security of a convoy traveling between Baghdad and Camp Taji in Iraq.

An improvised explosive devise exploded next to his vehicle and a large piece of shrapnel shot through his body armor and struck him in the chest resulting in a fatal wound.

PFC Hudson has been posthumously awarded the  Bronze Star Medal  for Meritorious Service and the  Purple Heart Medal  for his service.

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To Aaron-

For this our family is proud. Thank you to all our service men and women and their families!!

Most of all thank you Aaron for your service and your life!!!"

April Hudson (Aaron's aunt) of Shallowater, Texas

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"He liked being a soldier"

          An Army private from Highland Village died in Iraq on Saturday, a day after he was struck by shrapnel from a roadside bomb.

Pvt. Aaron Hudson, 20, was a 2002 graduate of Marcus High School in Flower Mound. He had joined the Army almost a year ago and left for Iraq in January. He was serving with the 401st Military Police Company.

"We knew in the back of our mind that this could happen," Mr. Hudson said. "The people of Iraq did not kill my son ... the criminal element in Iraq killed my son. He was there to help the Iraqi people."

Pvt. Hudson was born May 17, 1984, in Dallas. He played select-level baseball, soccer and basketball growing up, but his main high school sport was golf.

He always felt at ease around people of any age, especially around his grandfather's golfing buddies. "He loved to play golf with those men. Those men loved him, too," Mr. Hudson said.

Pvt. Hudson conducted extensive research into which branch of the military he would join, his father said, before settling on being a military police officer in the Army.

"The thing that makes it odd is we aren't a military family," Mr. Hudson said. "He sent us a letter the fourth week into basic [training]. Basic training is supposed to be tough. And he said, 'Man, Dad. This is fun.' I knew then he made the right decision."

Pvt. Hudson spoke to his family by telephone two or three times a week. The last time that he spoke with his parents was the Tuesday before he was killed to wish them a happy 25th wedding anniversary.

Pvt. Hudson's phone calls and letters were never negative, his father said.

"The food was never terrible, the conditions were never terrible," he said. "You would think the letters would start off with, 'This sucks.' But they were never like that. It's made this a whole lot easier."

Mr. Hudson said his son's best friends were fellow soldiers.

"He loved the camaraderie and the structure," Mr. Hudson said. "Let's face it, he'd rather been home. But he knew why he was there, and he knew him being there was important."

Pvt. Hudson's body was expected to arrive at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware early this morning. His body will be returned to North Texas by the end of the week, Mr. Hudson said.

Funeral arrangements are pending. Pvt. Hudson's battalion in Iraq will hold a memorial service for him Wednesday.

In addition to his father, Pvt. Hudson is survived by his mother, Annette Hudson of Highland Village; a sister, Lezlie Hudson of Dallas; grandparents David and Fredrika Hudson of Mount Pleasant, Texas; and great-grandparents Ed and Loise Huddleston of Lewisville.

Dallas Morning News -- Wednesday, April 20 2005 @ 08:26 AM EST

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PVT Hudson you are a brave soldier,

Well Rest In Peace and God bless your family through this rough time. Watch over us and protect us so once again 401st MP Company "ALWAYS FIRST," can come back home again from IRAQ Safely"

SPC Anthony Boike, 401st MP Company, Baghdad, IRAQ

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To the Hudson Family,

I know that you are saddened by this loss, I understand how hard it is.

I knew Aaron in elementary, middle, and high school. He was always an outstanding student and friend.

He is our home town hero and always will be. He is in our thoughts and prayers.

May God Bless your dear son PVT Aaron Hudson.

Crystal, Flower Mound, Texas

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Hudson Family,

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