Donald Hudson, World War I Flying Ace, Dies
FT. MEADE, Md. (AP) —
Donald Hudson, a flying ace with the 27th Aero Squadron during World War I, died of a stroke Sunday at Kimbrough Army Hospital at Ft. Meade. He was 71.
He was credited with being the first pilot to fly over the Andes Mountains in South America, after he became an instructor for the Bolivian Air Force in 1919. A monument to his flight was erected last year in La Paz, Bolivia.
During his long career, he also published a newspaper in Mexico City, was labor relations consultant with an oil company, earned a law degree, and served as administrative assistant with the Maryland Military District.
A veteran of 39 years with the U.S. Air Force, Hudson retired as a colonel 20 years ago to a home at nearby Jessup, Md.
Born in Topeka, Kan., he was graduated from Riverview Military Academy at Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and started studying at the University of Kansas but did not finish.
According to his family, he "liked to blame his college dropout days on an abrupt interest in the flying machine."
Surviving are his widow, Isabel, and a son, Donald Hudson of New York City.
The Bridgeport Telegram (Bridgeport, Connecticut) - Tuesday, June 13, 1967
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