April 1, 2023: Norma Hudgens

Army Veteran Norma Hudgens is today’s Veteran of the Day.
Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Norma Hudgens.

Before joining the military, Norma Hudgens had been a teacher, working with 4th graders at Manuel S. Rojas Elementary School in Cavite City, Philippines. She had received a bachelor’s degree in education in 1967 from the Philippine Women’s University in Manila.

Hudgens joined the Army and attended basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and went on to Chaplain Assistant Advanced Individual Training in 1976. She then served at Osan Air Base in Korea in 1976, before receiving orders to the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas, where she remained for the rest of her military career.

As a soldier, Hudgens was qualified on the M-16 service rifle and certified to operate the Army Jeep M-151. As a chaplain assistant, Hudgens would escort and drive Army Chaplains in the field. She also assisted in chapel services, preparing communion and other communications for religious holidays and memorial services. While stationed in Korea, she also aided the Osan orphanage by teaching children in South Korea.

In Korea, she met her husband, Kenneth Hudgens, who was assigned to the 38th ADA Brigade Medical Section. They were married in Texas in 1977.

After Hudgens military service, she used the G.I. Bill to complete dual master’s degree programs in Criminal Justice and Counseling from University of Central Texas in 1980. After her master’s program, she began teaching at University of Central Texas. She remained in this career for 39 years, traveling around the world as an education services specialist and career civil servant. She also worked for the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy Recruiting Districts before retiring in Southern California. More recently, she has taught Human Development courses at Antelope Valley College.

Hudgens has been married for 47 years and is the mother to two children and a grandmother of three.

We honor her service.


Nominate a Veteran for #VeteranOfTheDay

Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? You’re in luck! VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.

It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. All it takes is an email to newmedia@va.gov with as much information as you can put together, along with some good photos. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission


Writer: Sarah McDonald

Editors: Marisa Bunton, Ashley Shaut

Researcher: Christopher Rosenquist

Graphic Designer: Jaylon Buckles

Link Disclaimer

This page includes links to other websites outside our control and jurisdiction. VA is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of non-VA Web sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policy or terms and conditions of those sites to fully understand what information is collected and how it is used.

Statement of Endorsement

Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.

Leave a comment

The comments section is for opinions and feedback on this particular article; this is not a customer support channel. If you are looking for assistance, please visit Ask VA or call 1-800-698-2411. Please, never put personally identifiable information (SSAN, address, phone number, etc.) or protected health information into the form — it will be deleted for your protection.

One Comment

  1. louis a nieves April 1, 2023 at 21:58

    i salute you.as a fellow vet vietnam. i was in tbe air force in saigon we knew a lot of the filipino pilots.they triwd to give me balot! i also worked 1 years as a board of education paraprofessional.

Comments are closed.

More Stories