815. Milton Sailor's Ship Sunk at D-Day 1944

Jewel Hicks Hudson was born in Jay, Florida on May 18, 1905, the son of John Granville Hudson (1882-1978) and Mamie Etta Diamond (1882-1938). His father supported his family as a farmer in Pine Level, Santa Rosa County in the early part of the the 1900's. Before his death, John had become a Santa Rosa demonstration agent and would retire from this position. In 1930, the family was still living in Jay, Florida with his father employed with the county. By 1940, Jewel had become a manager for the WPA (Works Progress Administration employment program created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935) while living in Crawfordville, Florida in Wakulla County. By the time Jewel enlisted in the US Navy in WWII, he had already become an attorney practicing in Crawfordville.

On June 6, 1944, the Allied forces had gathered a mighty force to storm the beaches of Normandy. Leading that mighty armada was the "patrol craft" PC-1261 who led the first wave of landing craft at Utah Beach. There is no known record of which ship Yeomen Jewel Hicks Hudson was actually aboard but the PC-1261 is the only one of its size, area, and complement that matches his description. An article written by Halsey Vail Barrett Jr. stated that his father Halsey Sr. was navigator on the PC 1261. The ship was off Utah Beach at about 0530 hours on D-Day morning when it was hit by a third German shell fired from a shore battery. The first two shells struck the water on either side of the ship and the third hit the engine room amidships, killing about half the crew. The ship tipped over with the bow above water for about two hours before the remaining crew including Halsey was rescued. Although the Pensacola News Journal states it was sunk by torpedo, the above story was written by someone actually on the ship. At the time the ship was hit, they were enroute to the beachhead off of Îles Saint-Marcouf. The ship was the first vessel to be lost during the invasion and would lose eleven men in the process.

Jewel would return from the war and take up his law practice where he left off. According to the Tallahassee Democrat edition of December 3, 1982 on page 59, he was even listed as the intended victim of an already convicted murderer Michael Frederick. Frederick was living in the Crawfordville Trailer Park of which Jewel was the owner. The offense was never carried out and Frederick was convicted on the murder charge of another.

Jewell would pass away in Crawfordville on February 27, 1985 and was buried in the Cora Baptist Church Cemetery in Jay, Florida. His sister, Gladys Evelyn Hudson (1906-1987) was a teacher and would join him in the pale nations two years later.