Van Hollen Seeks Medal of Honor for Black World War II Hero
WASHINGTON – Black nothingness.
For hours, that was all that Army Cpl. Waverly Woodson, Jr. recognized as the landing craft rode the choppy English Channel on a moonless night.
The prospect of living was uncertain. But “Woody” Woodson, a medic for the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion – the only all-black U.S. combat unit to storm Normandy’s beaches on D-Day – was willing to risk his life for a country that treated him as a second-class citizen.
The morning dawn on June 6, 1944, illuminated Normandy’s distant shoreline. Squinting at the serene beach that would soon be called “Bloody Omaha,” Woodson found solace and satisfaction.
His moment of reverie, though, would be short-lived. In a matter of minutes, a hailstorm of German bullets and bombs would spray the English Channel and the coastline would be awash in bobbing, lifeless bodies.
Woodson would end up saving as many as 200 soldiers during the Allied assault on German positions. His heroic efforts earned him a Bronze Star – and a recommendation for the Medal of Honor.
READ MORE: http://cnsmaryland.org/2015/11/13/van-holl...
For hours, that was all that Army Cpl. Waverly Woodson, Jr. recognized as the landing craft rode the choppy English Channel on a moonless night.
The prospect of living was uncertain. But “Woody” Woodson, a medic for the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion – the only all-black U.S. combat unit to storm Normandy’s beaches on D-Day – was willing to risk his life for a country that treated him as a second-class citizen.
The morning dawn on June 6, 1944, illuminated Normandy’s distant shoreline. Squinting at the serene beach that would soon be called “Bloody Omaha,” Woodson found solace and satisfaction.
His moment of reverie, though, would be short-lived. In a matter of minutes, a hailstorm of German bullets and bombs would spray the English Channel and the coastline would be awash in bobbing, lifeless bodies.
Woodson would end up saving as many as 200 soldiers during the Allied assault on German positions. His heroic efforts earned him a Bronze Star – and a recommendation for the Medal of Honor.
READ MORE: http://cnsmaryland.org/2015/11/13/van-holl...
