Harry K. Hodge

Harry K. Hodge served in the United States Army and achieved the rank of Sergeant.

Born in Brooklyn, Mr. Hodge is the middle brother of Ronald and William, and has a younger sister, Cynthia.

Mr. Hodge attended Canarsie High School, and shortly after, joined the Army. He completed basic training at Ft. Dix, New Jersey on his nineteenth birthday. For 10 years, Mr. Hodge served as a Finance Specialist.

His first duty station was in Germany, and from there, he went to Ft. Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. From Ft. Ben, he went to Belgium, where he trained for Club Management and stayed for three years. Mr. Hodge returned to the United States to attend additional training.

Upon successful completion of Club Management school, Mr. Hodge went on to manage military clubs at Ft. Lewis in Washington, Korea, Japan, and El Paso, Texas for approximately nine years. After the military civilianized the clubs, Mr. Hodge returned to finance.

In 1993, after 20 years of service, he retired from the Army in Ft. Polk, Louisiana. Mr. Hodge returned to Brooklyn, New York, and after working for Gray Advertising for a while, he ultimately continued his federal service by joining the Department of Veterans Affairs as an Eligibility Specialist. Mr. Hodge enjoyed working with his fellow veterans, and says that there is a comradeship that veterans share that people outside the circle cannot understand. He laughs when he recalls the older veterans saying, “Don’t get old.” He reminds them of the alternative to getting old, and they immediately confirm that he is right as they try to skip out of the office.

In 2019, Mr. Hodge retired from the VA. He enjoys spending time at home with his veteran wife, Andrea, while watching his favorite TV shows. He stays connected to his daughters, Deshawn, Jennifer, and Kamaria, who is also a veteran. Mr. Hodge has eight grandchildren, one of whom is a Staff Sergeant on active duty, and one great-granddaughter. He regularly visits his military buddies and enjoys spending time with his family.