Unfriendly Fire: The Promising Life, Military Service and Senseless Murder of US Army Technician Fifth Grade Floyd O. Hudson Jr.

By John Hudson

On February 15, 1946, the life of US Army Technician Fifth Grade Floyd O. Hudson Jr. was cut short by fellow soldiers--all over a thrown beer bottle while still on active duty. Private Hudson's life had such promise. He and his brothers, who lived an idyllic life growing up at the Llangollen estate in Upperville, Virginia, were a successful music trio that had caught the eye and ear of Gene Autry, who was prepared to mentor them in the music industry. Unfortunately, those dreams suddenly ended for the Hudson brothers that awful night in Asperg, Germany.

Unfriendly Fire provides details of that night, gleaned from actual trial transcripts, which resulted in the conviction of three soldiers, who were sentenced to be hanged. It also includes a mysterious attempt by high-level politicians to commute the death sentences to hard labor. Due to a successful FOIA request on the eventual fate of these soldiers, we now know if that attempt succeeded.

But Unfriendly Fire also serves as a repository of a young soldier's musings on life and love, through dozens of letters written to his mother back home. Included in this book are images heretofore unpublished, which help tell the story--photos, newspaper clippings, Nazi memorabilia, and other period images.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9781638816317

John Hudson

John Hudson FRGS is a survival instructor, broadcaster, writer, public speaker and training consultant based in Cornwall, whose specialist work takes him to some of the most remote and extreme environments around the globe. A former RAF helicopter pilot, John is the British Military's Chief SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance & Extraction) Instructor, and an elected Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He's also been a resident survival expert on two series of Discovery's prime-time TV show Survive That – a.k.a Dude You're Screwed in the USA – successfully putting his own resilience to the test on camera in front of millions. From the darkest depths of a jungle cenote, to the top of a stormy Alaskan glacier, John's sense of humour and everyday stoicism have won him many fans worldwide.