Henry I. Hodes was born in
Washington, D.C., on 19 March 1899. He graduated from the
United States Military Academy in 1920. Hodes began his military career in the horse mounted cavalry, in the Wyoming and Texas wilderness. He led the
United States Army into the mechanized age of trucks, cars, jeeps, tanks, and airplanes. He attempted flying, but gave it up after a couple of crashes. His military career accelerated in
World War II, which found him in the middle of war planning in Washington, D.C. He was wounded twice in World War II, while serving with the
112th Infantry Regiment in France and Belgium. He returned to the war after receiving a shoulder wound, but was sent back to the US after receiving a head wound on 20 September 1944, which required hospitalization. Hodes became a
brigadier general on 25 January 1945. Other assignments included Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, United States Army from 1945 to 1949, Assistant Commanding General,
1st Cavalry Division in 1949. He served in the Korean War, where he was given the nickname "Hammering Hank". He served first as a field commander and later as a representative at Panmunjom – the Armistice Agreement with North Korea. His assignments during the war included Assistant Commanding General 7th Division from 1950 to 1951; Deputy Commanding General
Eighth United States Army, 1951–52; and Commanding General
24th Division in 1952. He served as Commandant of the
Command and General Staff College from 1952 to 1954, and was Commanding General,
Seventh United States Army from 1954 to 1956. After serving in Korea, he returned to Germany. His service in post-war Europe was vital in the rebuilding efforts and designing defensive strategies opposite the communist Russians in East Germany and the Czech Republic, during the early 1950s. , Korea, during the early days of the Armistice talks He was promoted to the rank of general on 1 June 1956, and served as Commander in Chief, U.S. Army Europe and Commander, Central Army Group for
NATO until his retirement from the Army on March 31, 1959. He retired after serving more than 40 years in the US Army. He suffered from
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and died at
Brooke General Hospital in
San Antonio, Texas on 14 February 1962. He was buried in
Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. ==Personal life==