Sgt. Nicolas M.
Hodson
Sgt. Nicolas M.
Hodson, 22, of Smithville, Mo., assigned to the 3rd Battalion,
2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp
Lejeune, N.C.; killed in a vehicle accident in Iraq.
In the
Marine Corps, Hodson finally found a place where he felt
comfortable.
“The last
time he was home, he said joining the Marines was the best thing
he ever did,” says Mara Edinger, a friend and high school
classmate. “He really felt he belonged to something.”
Hudson's
four-year stint was due to end in June, and he was trying to
decide whether to go college and study engineering or make a
career with the Marines. He was leaning toward the Marines,
Hodson had
two sons: Marius, 2 and Nicolas 5 months, who live with their
mother Michelon Hodson in
North Carolina.
He also has
a twin sister, Nicole, also in
Kansas City.
His mother, Gloria Burton, died of cancer in Oct
He was a
great person; there wasn’t anybody who met him didn’t like him.
The primary
draw to enlist was to finance a college education, says Wayne
Kreuger, principal at Smithville High School, where Hodson
graduated in 1999.
His passion
was basketball and he was one of the better players on the
varsity team.
“Nick was
the kind of kid who gave what he did his all,” Kreuger said.
Since graduating, Hodson visited the school on a few occasions,
sometimes in uniform. Said Kreuger, “He was proud to be a
Marine.”
