Roll of Honor

Hodges, Donald N.

First Lt. Donald N. Hodges, age 24 of the U.S. Air Force, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Hodges of Lebanon was killed 29 OCT 1956 in the crash of a B-26 light bomber in South Georgia. The two other occupants of the plane, 2nd Lt. Bertel Carlson. 21 of Flushing, NY and 2nd Lt. David J Paul, 21, Cleveland Ohio, also were killed.

The crash occurred at 10:50 a.m. on Oct. 29, 1956, when their B-26 crashed near what was then Black Creek School between Pembroke and Bitchton, GA. According to media reports at the time, school Principal J.O. Hurst and other witnesses said the disabled plane appeared to be heading for the school when the pilot made a successful attempt to miss the brick school occupied by 110 students. 

Air Force records show that the crew had radioed that they were going to deploy their parachutes to escape the impending crash until they saw playground equipment and realized the bomber was heading toward a school.

It is not known who was piloting the plane, which crashed shortly after taking off from Hunter Air Force base at Savannah. The Public Information office at Hunter Air Force base said the three officers were on temporary duty there from the Second Tow Target Squadron at Mitchel Field NY.

First Lt. Hodges was a graduate of Lebanon High school in the class of 1950. He also attended Middle Tennessee State College at Murfreesboro.

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