The Henry County Times
Page 3
May 25, 2016
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Times
The Henry County
“Celebrating Henry County”
the war Feb. 28, 1942,” says
Wood, 90. “I was real fortunate
when I was in the Navy. I went in
13 trips on Omaha Beach, driv-
ing an LCDP during the invasion
of D-Day. I was real fortunate
that I never got hurt.”
Wood served as a boatswain’s
mate during his time in the Navy.
Though he was not hurt physical-
ly while there, Wood notes that
period was accompanied by its
share of sadness.
In fact, he was serving on a
1082-LST landing ship in the
Pacific Ocean, when the nation
suffered a significant loss on
April 12, 1945.
“We were about halfway
between England and Nova
Scotia when FDR died,” says
Wood. “That was a heartbreaker.
I think everybody had a tear in
their eye the day he died.”
After four years in the Navy,
says Wood, he began taking
Extension courses at the
University of Georgia. This
eventually led to his being placed
in an Army ROTC program, sta-
tioned at Fort McPherson during
the 1950s.
“I never did get out, I just
stayed with them,” he says. “I
was First Sergeant Headquarters
of Company 3442 at Fort Mac
for about five years. I wound up
having about 13 years in service
when I could have gotten out, but
I wouldn’t get out because I did-
n’t have any job to speak of.”
Wood says while he escaped
from the Navy unscathed, the
same could not be said of his
days as a soldier. In fact, he was
shot five times while in the Army
-- including twice in the leg --
and cracked three vertebrae in
his neck.
“When I was in the service in
Korea, I got shot – shot my toes
off, some of ‘em,” he says.
“They put two of them back on,
but the other one didn’t take.”
Wood also looked back on what
was perhaps his most serious
injury in Korea during his mili-
tary career.
“I was sitting on the back of a
tank, riding through this hollow,
and they shot us,” he says.
“There was 127, and they killed
90 of them out of that group. It
knocked me off the tank, and I
hit on my head and shoulders and
cracked the vertebrae in my
neck.”
Wood says he had to wear a cast
on his head for about nine
months following the latter
injury. He later retired from the
Army as a master sergeant, after
being discharged in 1985.
Despite his military injuries,
Wood says he has no regrets
about serving in the armed
forces.
“I wanted to go in, that’s the
reason I volunteered for the
Navy,” he says.
Far from being one to rest on his
military laurels, Wood has
achieved success in other areas
as well. He has been a gunsmith
for 45 years, and the walls of his
home reveal conquests from his
decades-long passion for hunting
and gun repair.
“I like to do anything with my
hands,” says Wood. “It occupies
my time, and I enjoy doing any-
thing with a gun. I like to kill
turkey, I like to kill deer, and if it
tears up on me, I can fix it.”
Bill Love of McDonough met
Wood about five years ago, when
Wood gave him a pair of guns.
Love says Wood “loves talking
to people,” even if he doesn’t
necessarily volunteer informa-
tion about his time in the mili-
tary.
“You have to kind of lead it out
of him,” says Love. “But then he
won’t stop.”
Wood also began playing semi-
pro baseball in the 1950s, and is
a member of the Georgia Softball
Hall of Fame and the National
Softball Hall of Fame.
He participated in a national
tournament for slow-pitch soft-
ball in 1990, and was a first-team
All American in the 55 and older
category. He is an 11-time All-
American in softball, and was
part of a national championship
team for participants age 65 and
older.
Regardless of his accomplish-
ments, Wood says he has never
flaunted his military status,
including when he was focused
on playing sports.
“I played ball with Charlie’s
Trading Post, and I was in the
Army then,” he says. They didn’t
even know I was in the Army. I
stayed at Fort Mac five years,
and they didn’t even know I was
in the Army. I didn’t wear my
uniform or nothin’.”
Wood,
from front
on top for this year’s race. Each
runner will be fitted with an elec-
tronic chip in their bibs to mark
their times for the race.
“We have improved our timing
methods this year,” she says. “We
have electronic step timing. It
records automatically when you
cross the finish line.”
Results will be updated through-
out the race in real time, and run-
ners can access their times after
crossing the finish line.
Runners can register for the race
online and pick up their packets
Friday from noon to 7 p.m., at
NewSole
Running,
1315
McDonough
Parkway
in
McDonough. Race-day registra-
tion and pickup will be at the
Gardner Fruit Stand from 6:45-8
a.m. Hard-copy registrations are
available at
.com/home /events/
For more information, call Anna
Williams at 770-692-2320 or e-
mail awilliams@locustgrove-ga
.gov.
For photos from the first Peach
Stand Road Race visit
rycountytimes.com
Race,
from front
A runner crosses the finish line at a past Peach Stand Road
Race.
File photo
