William L. Wood was from Wayne County, Michigan. (1)

He was married to Josephine B. Wood.(2)

On Feb. 25, 2009 - the Association received an email from a Colorado school teacher Bruce Scheel trying to determine if this William L. Wood received the Purple Heart and an might at one time have family who lived in Colorado. One of the staff at his school found a Purple Heart case with Medal, Ribbon and Dress Ribbon in it. It is inscribed with "William L. Wood" on the reverse and has a card in the case from the Dept of the Army that says "Its an honor for me to forward this decoration" signed by Kenneth C. Royall, Secretary of the Army.

Historian's review: An internet seach found that Kenneth C. Royall was Secretary of the Army 1947-49. There was another William L. Wood who died in the Vietnam War awarded the Purple Heart - he was lost 26 Jan 1970 21yrs past when Royall was Sec of the Army and forward the Purple Heart found.

MACR 14333 lists Josephine B. Wood (wife) as next of kin with a postal address of Denver Colorado - the Purple Heart was found in Colorado.

Also a search of the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) resulted in entry for:

Josephine B. Wood
Birth: 29 Aug 1910
Death: 3 Dec 1997
Last Residence: 80220, Denver, Denver Co., Colorado
SS# Issued in: Michigan

While her age in 1945 would have made her 35 yrs of age; There were some 39ers - enlisted men - that held positions on a combat crew that were 35 yrs of age (ex. Roy V. Ducan, FE, Crew 11 - lost 16 Apr. 1945) so perhaps "our" William L. Wood was a similar case. His date of birth is unknown. No WWII Enlistment Record could be found; It's unknown if the abv SSDI entry is the same as Josephine B. Wood (next of kin).

Hopefully a Wood family member will find our site and help fill in some gaps.

(1) World War II: 1941/46 HONOR LIST US Army Dead & Missing Wayne County, State Of Michigan
(2) MACR 14333 listed as Next of Kin (wife)

If anyone has any additional information about William L. Wood or a member of his crew please contact updates@39th.org