As a D-Day medic on a landing craft heading toward Omaha Beach, Waverly Woodson Jr. was wounded when his boat hit underwater mines. Still, Woodson went on to save an estimated 200 lives during 30 straight hours of intense combat. Even as he was evacuated after the battle with other wounded soldiers, he provided rescue breaths to men in the same truck who had nearly drowned as they approached shore.
After the invasion, Woodson’s commanding officer recommended him for the Medal of Honor. But, like every Black soldier recommended for the medal during World War II, Woodson saw his nomination ignored. He was eventually awarded a Bronze Star in 2023, along with the Combat Medic Badge.
Tuesday, Woodson’s widow, Joann, along with other members of the family, accepted the Distinguished Service Cross on behalf of her husband, who passed away on Aug. 12, 2005, during a ceremony held at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
But a years-long campaign to get Woodson the Medal of Honor remains unfinished, according to Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, who spoke at the ceremony honoring Woodson Tuesday.
“Our final objective remains a medal of honor, but that should not in any way lessen the fact that today marks a long sought, hard earned triumph for the family in the name of the valor and heroism of Waverly Woodson and righting this wrong matters,” said Van Hollen. “It matters for Waverly Woodson and his family, and it matters for our entire country, because we are a stronger, more united country when we remember all of our history and when we honor all of our heroes.”
Woodson was a 21-year-old Army corporal who stormed the Normandy beaches on June 6, 1944, as one of the 1,700 Black soldiers assigned to the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion of the First Army.
Woodson’s family has spent years pushing for the Medal of Honor to be awarded to Woodson for his actions on D-Day. Though there are not enough records to support the Medal of Honor, family and advocates continue to fight for an awards upgrade.
Subscribe to Task & Purpose today. Get the latest military news and culture in your inbox daily.
The 320th was the only all-Black unit to land on Omaha Beach on D-Day. Woodson was a combat medic and was wounded when his landing craft hit underwater mines while approaching the beach. Woodson treated himself and then pushed toward the beach, where he is credited with saving an estimated 200 lives over the next 30 hours.
“He dragged the dead and wounded from the surf, removed bullets, patched wounds, dispensed blood plasma, and even amputated one man’s right foot,” said a First Army spokesman during the ceremony. “He worked all day, through the night, and well until the next day, 30 straight hours, until he was on the brink of collapse from blood loss and fatigue.”
Before the award was handed to Woodson’s family during the ceremony, it had already traveled to Normandy, France, during the 80th Anniversary of D-day, where Woodson had established his first aid station during the landings.
“We want to be able to tell Mrs. Woodson that the medal she is receiving on behalf of her husband has actually been to Normandy, has actually been to the very place he performed his truly remarkable actions,” Maj. Gen. William A. Ryan III, commanding general of the First Army, said in a statement.
Woodson left the Army after WWII but rejoined during the Korean War, and finished his service with two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart. The Distinguished Service Cross is an upgrade to one of his Bronze Star Medals.
The Distinguished Service Cross is the nation’s second-highest valor award, but Woodson’s family hopes he may one day be upgraded again to the top award, the Medal of Honor.
Woodson’s son, Steve, said when the award was announced he hoped it “will pave the way for further recognition of his heroism on D-Day for saving lives in the pursuit of freedom for the oppressed, that recognition being the Medal of Honor.”
“Waverly would have felt honored to be recognized for what he knew was his duty,” his widow Joann said in a statement. “But we all know it was far more than duty; it was his desire to always help people in need.”
The latest on Task & Purpose
- Marine sergeant major fired from West Coast bootcamp now in brig amid investigation
- Army sends troops, artillery to the Aleutian Islands as Russian planes again fly near Alaska
- Marine who died trying to reach trapped Osprey pilots honored for final bravery
- Former West Point garrison commander cleared of most charges that led to firing
- Navy’s first fully gender-integrated submarine joins the fleet. Here’s what that means