Holloman honors National POW/MIA Recognition Day

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Sondra Escutia
  • 49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  You may define a bad day as waking up late, hurrying to work only to receive a speeding ticket, arriving to work and realizing you're 20 minutes late for a mandatory appointment. 

To Alamogordo High School graduate, Joseph Hudson, this does not constitute a bad day. 

He and his six comrades spent 21 days as Prisoners of War -- beaten, abused and demoralized; blindfolded and transported from place to place; and losing weight from lack of food -- but he has not had a bad day since April 13, 2003. 

Mr. Hudson told his story to members of Team Holloman on the morning of Sept. 25 during the National Prisoners of War/Missing in Action Recognition Day remembrance ceremony. 

The POW/MIA flag flew above Heritage Park and a technical sergeant dressed in blues stood vigil in front of the POW/MIA memorial when the ceremony began. 

"Today, we put aside time to remember those sacrifices made for country by the men and women who have come before us," said Col. Jeff Harrigian, 49th Fighter Wing commander. "Some lost their lives while others were imprisoned by the enemy and yet others remain missing today." 

After the singing of the National Anthem and invocation given by Chaplain (Capt.) Kelly Stahl, the Team Holloman Airmen, who gathered for the ceremony, were seated to hear a true POW story from the Alamogordo-native and former Army Soldier, Mr. Hudson. 

While deployed to Iraq from Fort Bliss, Texas, then-Specialist Hudson was at the tail end of a massive convoy. As a wheeled vehicle mechanic, his mentality at the time, he said, was that his place was "in the rear with the gear." But what happened next on that day in 2003 quickly changed his mind set. 

When the rear end of the massive convoy fell behind, only eighteen vehicles and 33 Soldiers remained, separated and without direction. Eventually, they realized they were headed the wrong way and their only option was to turn around. The noise of 18 vehicles rolling through the city of An-Nasiriyiah the first time caught the attention of the entire town, said Mr. Hudson. 

"When we turned around ... they were waiting for us," he said. "It wasn't a matter of if I was going to get killed -- it was a matter of when." 

The Army specialist and his comrades were attacked from every angle with everything from small-arm fires to rocket propelled grenades. 

"We were attacked from everywhere," said the former Soldier. 

He was almost out of the town alive when his vehicle was disabled, making it an easy target. 

"For 45 seconds straight, they shot into my vehicle," the Bronze Star recipient said. "I only got hit one time -- point blank range. You could literally see bullets whizzing by your ear, Kevlar getting knocked off." 

After 45 seconds of gunfire, he said, there was nothing but dead silence. 

"I'm still alive, I can't believe it," said Mr. Hudson. "I already accepted that I was about to die...March 23rd was the day I was supposed to die." He was immediately pulled out of the vehicle by his attackers. "And there I am, Joseph Hudson, Alamogordo, N.M., POW." 

Out of the 33 Soldiers that left on that convoy March 19, 2003, seven were captured and 11 were killed. 

"We were beaten, we were abused, just demoralized completely," said the veteran about his first few days as a POW. "Every night the battle would become closer and closer to us so they'd pack us up and move." 

The Soldiers were moved to seven different locations throughout Iraq and endured 21 days of captivity before they were rescued by U.S. Marines of the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. 

His former mentality that his career field would not see any action, that it was "in the rear with the gear," was proven wrong and he wanted all Airmen to know it. 

"It doesn't matter what your job is," he said. "When you put a uniform on and deploy to support our nation, you represent the ideals of America. It doesn't matter what your job is, not one bit." 

Because of the experience of the seven Soldiers, training requirements across the military have improved and expanded, so service members are prepared for any situation, regardless of their job. 

"I know what happened to us, [although] tragic, helped prevent the loss of many, many more soldiers that followed us into Iraq," said Mr. Hudson. 

Following his presentation, Mr. Hudson received a standing ovation and was given a gift of appreciation by Colonel Harrigian on behalf of the 49th Fighter Wing. 

Mr. Hudson received the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and a POW Medal for his service in Iraq. He is a 3rd generation Armed forces veteran - his father served 20 years in the Air Force and his grandfather is a veteran of World War II.