In the last 15 years, there hasn’t been a day when Oncor’s Mark Hudson didn’t think about his son’s life – or his death.

“You learn a lot about yourself,” said Mark, a 43-year Oncor employee. “Some days it feels like it happened last week. Some days, 40 years ago. It’s different every day.”

Just a month from turning 21, Aaron Hudson died in Iraq on April 16, 2005 shortly after his Army Humvee hit a roadside bomb.

Sometime later this year, depending upon the pandemic shutdown, the city of Highland Village, Texas will dedicate a pedestrian bridge in his honor.

The memorial bridge will link together walking trails maintained by the cities of Highland Village and Lewisville. Family friends of Mark and his wife, Annette, and locals who knew Aaron organized the effort to create the memorial.

Chuck Bahr moved in next door to the Hudsons in Highland Village when Aaron was 12. “He was just a great, great kid,” said Chuck, a former Highland Village police captain. “When he died, I told his mom, ‘I am never going to let him be forgotten.’ ”

Aaron Hudson spent nearly all of his pre-Army life in Highland Village, moving there with his parents at the age of 5. A well-liked student, Aaron loved sports. He played soccer, baseball and was a member of the Marcus High School golf team.

After high school, Aaron decided to join the military, hoping to eventually work in federal law enforcement. “I didn’t want him to join the Army just because he didn’t know what else to do,” Mark said. “But he was always interested in law enforcement, so he joined to be an MP (military police).”

He completed basic training in summer 2004. After that, the Army assigned him to the 401st Military Police company at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas.

It was in January 2005 when Mark and Annette pushed back their worry, anxiety and fear and told their only son goodbye as he left for Iraq. Less than four months later, Aaron was killed.

On the day Mark learned the news, he was with his own parents in Mt. Pleasant, Texas.

“It was a Saturday and a guy called me from the Army,” Mark said. “They don’t tell you over the phone what’s happened, but we knew. They – a captain and a chaplain -- drove to Mt. Pleasant. By the time they got there to tell us, there were some 40 people at my parents’ house.”

Mark said Aaron is the only Highland Village resident to be killed in active duty. A few years ago, the city recognized Aaron with a memorial at the city hall.

But former neighbor Bahr, former mayor Dianne Costa, and other local residents didn’t think it was enough. They and others convinced the city to fund and name the bridge after Aaron. They also set up a crowdfunding site to raise additional funds for signage.

The Army buried Aaron with full military honors at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery. And Mark and Annette used to spend weekends there as volunteers. On his right wrist, Mark wears a gray metal band engraved with Aaron’s name, rank, hometown and the date he died.

Today, Mark and Annette live near downtown Dallas in the West Village area. The house in Highland Village has “too many memories,” Mark said. “Not bad ones, just too many memories.”

It’s also where Mark and Aaron talked several times just before Aaron’s deployment.

“I said, ‘You know you’re going to get deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan,’ ” Mark said. “And he went in knowing that. As a parent, you can’t let yourself think about it all the time.”

Bahr said that since Aaron died, he’s posted a tribute to him every year on Facebook. “I say, ‘I haven’t forgotten about you, buddy. I’m not going to give up,’ ” Bahr said. And he didn’t.