| Membership level: Hall of Fame Dr. William Dodge Inductee Year 2000 |  |
| Dr. Dodge is a 1940 graduate of, what was, Hinsdale High School – when the high school was located at the present site of The Hinsdale Middle School. Three years as Class President, he was Salutatorian of Class his senior year. His enrollment at Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa was interrupted by the onset of World War II, where he served, as a gunner with the 76th Infantry Division, 3rd Army under Gen. George S. Patton in the Battle of the Bulge & The Bridge at Remangen. He was part of the American Force that met up with the Russian Army at Chemnitz, Germany; this would not be the last time he dealt with the Soviet Union. Returning from the war, Dr. Dodge entered graduate school at the University of Wisconsin and earned a PhD in Russian History and Literature in 1950. Dr. Dodge began work with the newly formed Central Intelligence Agency (formerly the O.S.S. during the war) in 1950 as a Soviet Area Analyst, rising to Deputy Division Chief, Foreign Documents Division. A highlight of that tense period was his report to the U.S. Government on the Soviet launch of Sputnik, the first artificial earth satellite to orbit the earth – 6 months prior to the actual launch! In 1962 he began service as Assistant Division Chief for Foreign Area Research, Aerospace Technology Division, U.S. Air Force, stationed in the Library of Congress, until 1968. In 1969, Dr. Dodge joined the Air Research Division of the Defense Intelligence Agency, located in the Library of Congress, becoming its Chief in 1972 and serving as such until his retirement in 1980. In 1980 Dr. Dodge was awarded the Distinguished Service Citation by the Defense Intelligence Agency. Mr Dodge passed away in February 2003. | |
