Soldier recounts untold stories of Vietnam

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Jim Hodges was one of a group of soldiers sent on a secret mission into the mountains of Laos during the Vietnam War. He was the only one from his unit to walk out alive. A Sergeant Infantry and a light weapons specialist, Hodges fought in battles that are unrecorded by history.

Hodges will reveal details of this secret mission at "Laos: The Untold Story" sponsored by the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at Grand Valley State University. The program will accompany a viewing of the Ford Museum's exhibit, "Requiem: By the Photographers Who Died in Vietnam and Indochina."

"Jim Hodges has an extremely moving story that will speak to veterans and to Americans who remember this painful part of our history," said Gleaves Whitney, director of the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies. "Jim's talk will bring to life the powerful photographs in the Requiem exhibit at the Ford Presidential Library." ** "Laos: The Untold Story" will take place Wednesday, April 26, at 7 p.m. at the Gerald R. Ford Museum Auditorium in downtown Grand Rapids. The event is open to media.**

After three years of service in the Army, Hodges returned to his home state of Texas where he conducted police, security and detective work. He is currently the president of Shared Technologies & Jim Hodges Productions.

For more information, contact Gleaves Whitney at (616) 331-2770 or GVSU News and Information Services at (616) 331-2221, or visit the Hauenstein Center's Web site at www.allpresidents.org.