Black WW2 Veteran Honored Decades Later, 21 Yr Old Medic, D-Day 1944 Helped Save 200 Lives

'Black WWII Veteran Who Helped Save 200 Lives Finally Honored After Decades-Long Campaign by His Family,' People Mag., Sept. 27, 2024. Ed. - "My father, if he could have been here today, would have been humbled," Army Cpl. Waverly Woodson Jr.'s son, Steve, said
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(Waverly Woodson Jr. PHOTO: AP)

A Black World War II veteran is finally being honored decades after he saved 200 lives, thanks to his family. During a ceremony on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Sept. 24, Army Cpl. Waverly Woodson Jr. was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross — the second-highest military decoration for soldiers who display extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force.

It was June 6, 1944, when U.S. soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy during WWII for what became known as D-Day. “With a hailstorm of bullets and bombs raking the surf all around him, Sgt. Waverly Woodson, Jr., leaped out of a landing craft onto Normandy Beach on June 6, 1944, and did what he had to do,” Joint Base Andrews said of the then-21-year-old medic’s acts of heroism in a March 2015 post. Woodson had been injured by shrapnel as he continued to care for others.

Yet, in those days, Black soldiers did not receive credit for their contributions. According to The Frederick News-Post, Woodson’s family “fought tirelessly for over 20 years” for him to receive the proper recognition. He died in Aug. 2005, and is survived by his wife, Joann Katharyne Snowden, 95, whom he married in 1952. The couple had three children together, per NPS.gov.

"It's been a long, long road … to get to this day," his son, Steve, told the crowd on Tuesday, CBS News reported. "My father, if he could have been here today, would have been humbled." “All throughout the years, my dad never really complained about never being honored for what he had done. He considered that to be his duty,” he continued, per the News-Post. “To have him receive an honor of this stature is just absolutely incredible.”

U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen also spoke at Tuesday’s ceremony after first getting involved with the campaign for Woodson’s posthumous recognition in 2015...More,
https://people.com/black-wwii-veteran-honored-decades-later-8719355
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Also: How Idris Elba’s Doc Opened His Eyes to ‘Traumatic’ Racism Black WWII ‘Heroes’ Felt When They Returned to U.S. (Exclusive),
https://people.com/how-idris-elba-doc-opened-his-eyes-to-traumatic-racism-black-wwii-heroes-felt-when-they-returned-to-u-s-exclusiv-8659022