Posted on Tue, Mar. 25, 2003

Friends mourn death of Marine from Northland
By LEE HILL KAVANAUGH
The Kansas City Star

Michelle Smith heard the news Sunday night: The father of her child, Sgt. Nicolas M. Hodson, 22, a Marine, was dead.

Now, the military's mail service holds her only hope.

"I just want one last letter from him," she said Monday, through her tears. Six letters have found their way to her. "He said he sent one more. I hope."

News of Hodson's death came in a phone call Sunday afternoon to his twin sister, Nicole.

"The military called me and told me he was deceased, that he died in a vehicle accident," she said. "That was it. And this is a shock. That was all they told me."

Details of the accident -- where it happened, and how -- were not released Monday.

By Monday afternoon in her Riverside apartment, Nicole, formerly of Smithville, was surrounded by her closest friends. Her mother, Gloria Hodson, died last year of cancer. Her father is estranged from the family. There is no closer family nearby.

The friends surrounding her, though, she calls "my family." Three friends who grew up together in Smithville, who went to high school together, celebrated birthdays together -- including a new baby -- and now are sharing grief together. Three friends who are still unbelieving that a war they've watched on television has snatched a dear friend away.

"I keep thinking this is all a bad dream and I'll wake up and it will be a sick joke," said David Crabaugh, 24, who had known "Nick" for 10 years. "We were just getting ready to send him a care package. I just wish I could have had one last chance to talk with him, so that I could have told him I love him. You always want that last chance."

Michelle Smith nods her head at those words. But she wipes her face then smiles a little, too. She did tell Nick she loved him. Of the group, she was the last to talk to him in mid-February, about the time he was promoted to sergeant.

The friends laugh, remembering the day they heard of his promotion.

"He was so proud of being a Marine, of serving his country," said Nicole Hodson. "He passed doing what he loved to do. He was kind-hearted and loved to tell people what to do....I don't regret that we as a country are over there."

After the death of his mom, Hodson was home in December. Then, he shared stories of gas-attack drills, where he was always the Marine who could not hold his breath in the practice chamber. Or he'd play flag football in the "Bud Bowl" teams from area bars that play each other, teasing his buddies about his prowess in the game.

Hodson was also home in Riverside for a few weeks in the summer. He adored his sons, 2-year-old Braden, and Marius,, a 1-year-old, who lives in North Carolina.

A home video holds cherished images of a father playing with his son in a wading pool. Mowing the grass. Waving goodbye to the camera. A young father, muscled and sinewy, whose future dreams included settling down with a family, being a recruiter for the Marines in his hometown.

"He always told me to tell everyone that he missed everybody and hoped to be home soon," said Smith, before her words dissolved to tears. "I haven't explained this yet to Braden. He's just 2. But he knows we're all really sad."

Grief overcomes her again. But her friends are quick to support her with hugs and tears of their own. One friend, Kynny Garrett, wanted people to remember one thing:

"These soldiers have a name and a face. They're not just a number. They all have relatives back home, and their memories will live on through their loved ones."

 

Posted on Mon, Mar. 24, 2003 

Smithville Marine dies in accident
By The Associated Press

 

A U.S. Marine from Smithville was killed in a vehicle accident in Iraq, the Department of Defense said today.

Sgt. Nicolas M. Hodson, 22, was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

The Department of Defense did not disclose details about his death.

Hodson graduated in 1999 from Smithville High School, where he had played basketball and track.

Principal Wayne Krueger described Hodson as "the kind of kid that everyone knew and everyone liked."

Hodson's mother died last fall from cancer, Krueger said.

"To our knowledge, she was a single parent," he said.

Since his graduation, Hodson had visited the school on a few occasions, sometimes in uniform. He would tell students to take advantage of the opportunities they had in high school, Krueger said.

"He was a good kid," Krueger said.

END