|
 Born in 1914, Time
magazine once described Dr. Carroll Broadus Hodges, 90, as a
“soldier-statesman.” It reflects a life that was as varied as the
countries in which he lived and traveled: both as a career Army officer and
later as an International Relations advisor.
Dr. Hodges, who would’ve turned 91 in January, passed away
on December 2nd from a year-long battle with cancer. His life
was a similar battle of hard work over difficult odds. The Tulsa native grew up
the son of a Baptist minister-farmer and a schoolteacher-mother and graduated
college during the Depression at Oklahoma Baptist University, working full-time
while making his mark as a triple-threat athlete (basketball, football and
track.) After WWII he would wind up coaching one of Greece’s first Olympic
basketball teams. But it was in the classroom and on campus where his future
both as a scholar and diplomat were made. He obtained a Masters from the
University of Oklahoma and did post-graduate studies at Duke University and the
University of Edinburgh (Scotland.) He earned a Ph.D. in Industrial Psychology
from the University of Munich (Germany) as well as honorary doctorates from two
Korean universities for his work in that country.
Perhaps, however, it was his
month-long 1,500 mile bike
ride from France, across the Italian Alps, through Yugoslavia, to Greece at the
outbreak of war in 1939 that would indicate some of the persistence and
diplomatic skills young Hodges would require for the rest of his life. He
managed to escape the Nazis with the aid of friendly Europeans and hard
pedaling. It may have been a precursor to his days as a 1964 advisor to
the Japanese Olympic committee as well as in international relations.
He retired from active duty as a colonel in 1969.
In 1983 he was featured in a book, “A Degree of
Difference,” as one of the 10 most distinguished graduates of his alma mater.
Later he would be selected for a nearly identical accolade when he was awarded
the Korean Prime Minster’s citation as one of the “50 Americans making the most
significant contributions to U.S.-Korea relations during the past 100 years.”
And Korea—where
he spent nearly 30 years after a nearly identical lengthy career as an Army
personnel officer and in counter-intelligence—is
where he made an indelible impression on U.S.-Korea relations. He left a trail
of good works and good will as the Field Director for the American-Korean
foundation and then as an International Relations Advisor to the Commander of
all US Forces - Korea. The wise counsel of Dr. Hodges, who had the
confidence of Korean dignitaries and the appreciation of the Korean people, was
an invaluable American diplomatic asset; thus a statue was erected by a Korean
school for the major contributions he made Korea-wide.
Since 2000, Carroll has been listed in
Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World.
A quiet thoughtful man, who found
that a love of golf was
helpful in his people-to-people diplomacy, he later provided the Suntree Rotary
Club and the Suntree Methodist Church good replacements during his retirement to
Melbourne in 1995.
Surviving are his wife of 60 years, Harriet; two sons,
Howard of Greenbelt, MD and Keith of Brunswick, GA; a daughter, Miok of Novi,
MI; three grandsons, Matthew, Aaron, and Sean; a granddaughter, Naomi; and a
great-granddaughter, Carsyn. He is also survived by two Sisters, Sunny
Hamrick and Patricia Kerr as well as one brother, Samuel Hodges.
A memorial service was held
at the Suntree United Methodist Church in Melbourne, FL on December 8, 2004.
Carroll was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery on a
beautiful spring day in 2005. Contact with the family may be made by writing
keith.hodges@comcast.net. |
