Comments/Citation:
Edgar Walker Hudson was born August 13, 1944 in Dickson, Dickson county, Tennessee, son of Edgar Hershel and Alice Pearl (Tucker) Hudson. The family lived in Dickson, where his father worked as a lineman for the railroad. Edgar had one brother and one sister. His brother, Carlton, served with the Navy during WWII. His father died in 1940 and he later lived with his paternal grandfather in Dickson. Edgar graduated from Dickson County High School. He worked as a laborer for the railroad prior to entering the service. On November 6, 1941 he married Thelma Lewis. They had one daughter, Linda Kathryn.
He had enlisted in the US Navy on September 30, 1939 at Nashville, Tennessee. He was initially attached to USS Bernadou DD-153, a destroyer, and in 1940 he received submarine training at the Submarine Base Training School, Groton, New London, Connecticut. In 1941 he was attached to USS R-18 (SS 95). In 1943 he was with the Supervisor of Shipbuilding Conversion and Repair (SUPSHIP) Groton, Connecticut.
He was aboard USS Flier (SS-250) on October 18, 1943, the date of her commissioning, as a Motor Machinist’s Mate First Class. While aboard Flier, he became a Chief MoMM.
Flier left Freemantle, Western Australia on August 2, 1944 to conduct her second war patrol. Her area was east of Saigon, French Indochina, and she was to pass through Lombok Strait, Makassar Strait, the Celebes Sea, Sibutu Passage and the Sulu Sea in proceeding to her station. By evening of August 13 she had come through the Sulu Sea and was transiting Balabac Strait, south of Palawan, P.I., when, at 2200, disaster struck. Suddenly a terrific explosion, estimated to have been forward on the starboard side, shook the ship. Several of the men on the bridge were injured, and the Commanding Officer was thrown to the after part of the bridge… Oil, water and debris deluged the bridge. There was a strong smell of fuel, a terrific venting of air through the conning tower hatch, and the sounds of flooding and of screaming men below…Within 20 or 30 seconds Flier sank while still making 15 knots through the water. The Commanding Officer’s opinion was that the explosion was caused by contact with a mine.
All but a few officers and men were lost with the boat. Chief Hudson was one of the seven men who survived the Flier sinking but drowned as they struggled toward shore. He was listed as Missing in Action and later declared dead 19 January 1946. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, and Submarine Combat Award with 3 gold stars.
His name appears on the Tablets of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Manila, the Philippines.
On 1 February 2009, the U.S. Navy announced the discovery of Flier near the Philippines' Balabac Strait (Coordinates: 7°58′43.21″N 117°15′23.79″E). The discovery of a Gato-class submarine was made during an expedition by YAP Films, based in part on information provided by a survivor of the sinking of Flier. Further research by the Naval History and Heritage Command revealed that no other submarine, American or Japanese, had been reported lost in that general vicinity. In addition, footage of the wreck showed a gun mount and radar antenna, both of which were similar to the same equipment seen in contemporary photographs of Flier. The ship rests in 330 ft (100 m) of water.
Reference:
1920; Census Place: Dickson, Dickson, Tennessee; Page: 15B; Enumeration District: 7
1930; Census Place: Dickson, Dickson, Tennessee; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0008
1940; Census Place: Dickson, Dickson, Tennessee; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 22-6
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56783168/edgar-walker-hudson
Nashville Banner, Nashville, TN: Feb. 8, 1946, p.26
Dickson County, Tennessee WWII Scrap Book, compiled by William E. (Cubby) and Lorene Donegan Brazzel, Dickson County Historical and Genealogical Society, Allegra Printing, Dickson, TN, 2011, p.6
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Flier_(SS-250)
United States Submarine Veterans of World War II, A History of The Veterans of The United States Naval Submarine Fleet, Vol. II, Taylor Publishing Co., Dallas, TX, 1987, p.235
Service number: 2952490
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Susan Gould (SBTS Writer)-Historian
to remember
Hudson, Edgar Walker, CMoMM.
