Dodges Who Fought For Their Country
The Vietnam Conflict
John Dodge of Middle Chinnock, Somerset, England, was the father of William and Richard who came to America in 1629 and 1638, respectively. They settled in what is now, Salem, Massachusetts.
Tristram Dodge came to Block Island, Rhode Island in 1660/61. He came from England, via Newfoundland, via Taunton, Massachusetts. We believe that his ancestors were came from Northern England
Lineage -
Edward Ray Dodge; Norfolk, Virginia; Born Dec 16, 1933; Sergeant Major, US Army; Killed - Missing In Action;
Crashed on December 31, 1964 over South Vietnam; Sergeant Major Dodge was an observer in O1F plane that went down in South Vietnam.
His body was not recovered.; Listed as Died, Oct 28, 1977. There is an MIA bracelet for Edward Ray Dodge.
Lineage - Tristram Dodge of Block Island, Rhode Island.
Gregory Alexis Dodge; Stockton, California; Born Nov 1, 1949
Sergeant, US Army; Died July 9, 1970 Binh Thuan, South Vietnam
Sergeant Dodge was killed in a ground attack by a mortar shell.
Gregory Alexis Dodge had a twin brother named Gary Lee. He had two more brothers, George and Earl and a sister, Beverly.
He was the son of George Otis Dodge, and first name of mother is unknown, but her last name was Filmore. All born and raised in California.
Lineage - Unknown
Jeffrey Bruns Dodge; Yonkers, New York; Born 12/01/1946
Army - Specialist Five; Born Dec 1, 1946; Died Aug 25, 1970, Binh Duong, South Vietnam
Sergeant Dodge was killed in a ground attack.
Lineage - We have not yet been able to trace the ancestry of Jewell's father, Phineas Dodge
Jewell Fletcher Dodge; Mammoth Springs Arkansas; Born July 8, 1930
Sergeant, US Army; Died July 11, 1967, Binh Long, South Vietnam; Sergant Dodge was killed in a ground attack.
Jewell Fletcher Dodge was a descendant of Phineas Dodge and Betsy Morse. We have not been able to find their ancestry.
Lineage - James Orlando Dodge.We have not yet been able to solve the ancestry of James
Michael James Dodge. We have a photo and other information for Michael. Gibralter, Michigan; Born 04/30/1950; Died -6/14/1969; Army - Corporal; Killed in Hostile Action
Lineage - Unknown
Ronald Wayne Dodge; San Diego, California; Born June 17, 1936; Died May 17, 1967, Shot Down over North Vietnam
Commander, US Navy ; Commander Dodge was pictured on the cover of a Life Magazine moments after being shot down. He was killed by a group of villagers who attacked the plane after it crashed.
Lineage - Tristram Dodge
Ward Kent Dodge; Dighton, Kansas; Born 03/14/1929; Died 07/12/1967;
Air Force - Colonel; Killed - Prisoner of War;
Jim Escalle writes: Ward Kent Dodge was in my uncle's squadron during the Korean War long before Vietnam. He graduated from Webb, along with my uncle and others who happened to be assigned to the same squadron in Korea. Ward (or Kent, as he went by) Dodge was originally from Dighton, Kansas and graduated Kansas State College. He was in Class 52-F and was nicknamed "schoolboy" by his fellow cadets. He may have been a student officer. He, along with my uncle and others, went on after graduating pilot training to Nellis AFB for gunnery training before flying off to Korea. The squadron picture with him in it can be found at http://www.jimmylescalle.com/ ;
He was flying an F-105D, s/n 61-0042 when he was shot down. He belonged to the 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 355th Tactical Fighter Wing based at Takhli, Royal Thai Air Force Base (RTAFB) in Thailand. An account on his last flight: "As one formation of Thuds was hitting the Cao Nung Bridge, another group was bombing the railway yard at Vu Chua a few miles to the southeast. Just as Maj. Dodge was about to roll in from 15,000 feet to bomb the target, his aircraft was hit by an 85mm anti-aircraft shell. After a brief struggle to regain control, he was forced to eject close to the target. Ward Dodge is known to have been captured but he apparently died of unknown causes in a prison camp about a week after he was shot down." {from the book: "Vietnam Air Losses: USAF, Navy, and Marine Corps Fixed-Wing Aircraft Losses in SE Asia 1961-1973" The author is Chris Hodson and the publisher is Midland Publishing, published 2001.}
Click on the 36th FBS page and scroll down to "36th Fighter-Bomber Squadron" and click the underlined word link. Like many pilots who flew in Korea, he went on to fly in the Vietnam war only to be shot down.
His brother, Hale A. Dodge also fought in this war, but lived to go home
Ward was the son of Ray Gilbert Dodge and Nora Helen Thon