Bill Hudson, Private First Class

Among the earliest contributors to the Museum & Library's Oral History Program and a decorated veteran of the iconic Battle of Iwo Jima, William 'Bill' Hudson memorialized by Colonal (IL) Jennifer N. Pritzker, IL ARNG (Retired), Kenneth Clarke and the staff of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library.

William "Bill" Hudson was born in 1925 and raised in New York City. In 1943, not long after his 18th birthday, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. After boot camp, Hudson joined the 4th Marine Division as a Private First Class. In early 1945, Hudson joined the Pacific Theater of the Second World War.

>Hudson, who lived most of his life in Los Alamos, New Mexico, earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for his actions as a U.S. Marine during the Battle of Iwo Jima—a bloody conflict where 6,841 Marines lost their lives and 20,000 were wounded. In this 2006 video clip from Front & Center with John Callaway: 36 Days on Iwo Jima, Hudson talks about his experiences as a 19-year old private first class.

After the War, Hudson attended Cornell and New York University before beginning a long career as an educator in New Mexico. He passed away in September 2015 at the age of 90 years old.