World War II Honoree

William Edward 'Bill' Wood

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Nowata, Oklahoma

Honored By

Robert S. Cox

A MEMBER OF THE CHEROKEE AND DELAWARE INDIAN TRIBES, HE VOLUNTEERED FOR MILITARY SERVICE IN 1942, AT AGE 21, AFTER THE JAPANESE ATTACKED PEARL HARBOR, TERRITORY OF HAWAII. HE HAD NEVER REGISTERED FOR THE DRAFT. APPLIED AND WAS SELECTED FOR AIRCREW TRAINING AS A PILOT. TRAINED AT TAFT AND ONTARIO ARMY AIR FIELDS IN CALIFORNIA ON SINGLE-ENGINE AIRCRAFT, INCLUDING THE STEARMAN BIPLANE PT-17 AND BT-13 'VALIANT' TRAINERS. AFTER COMPLETING ADVANCED FLYING TRAINING, WAS EARMARKED FOR FOLLOW-ON MULTI-ENGINE TRAINING IN MEDIUM BOMBER AIRCRAFT, AWARDED HIS SILVER PILOT WINGS, AND COMMISSIONED A SECOND LIEUTENANT. IN 1943, TRANSITIONED AS A B-25 'MITCHELL' MEDIUM BOMBER PILOT IN CALIFORNIA. HE TRAINED IN LOW-LEVEL BOMBING, HIGH ALTITUDE BOMBING, SKIP BOMBING, NAVIGATION, NIGHT FLYING, AND FORMATION FLYING. FORMED UP WITH HIS CREW AT COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA AND DEPLOYED OVERSEAS TO INDIA IN 1944. SERVED AS A B-25 PILOT IN THE ASIATIC-PACIFIC THEATER, IN THE CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (CBI) AREA, WITH THE 83RD BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON (MEDIUM), 12TH BOMBARDMENT GROUP (MEDIUM), 10TH AIR FORCE, BASED IN INDIA. ON THE FOURTH DAY HE WAS IN-COUNTRY AT HIS AIRFIELD, THE JAPANESE BOMBED HIS BASE AT NIGHT. FLEW A TOTAL OF 63 MISSIONS, INCLUDING LOW-LEVEL BOMBING RUNS AND RECALLS TAKING FIRE FROM JAPANESE TROOPS ON THE GROUND WHILE TRYING TO PUT BOMBS ON TARGET. TARGETS INCLUDED JAPANESE BASES, RAILWAYS, AND BRIDGES IN THE JUNGLES OF BURMA AND IN CHINA. HIS UNIT BOMBED 128 MILES OF RAILROAD LINE WHICH WAS NEVER ABLE TO BE USED BY THE ENEMY. HIS AIRCRAFT WAS HIT IN THE LEFT WING AND TAIL, AND THE GROUND CREW HAD TO REMOVE BRANCHES FROM HIS ENGINES ON OCCASION AFTER FLYING AT TREE-TOP LEVEL TO AVOID ANTIAIRCRAFT FIRE. HE CREDITS SELF-SEALING FUEL TANKS WITH SAVING HIS AIRCRAFT AND CREW WHEN HIT IN THE WING BY GROUND FIRE. AFTER ONE MISSION, HE LANDED WITH A BOMB HANGING FROM HIS BOMB BAY AFTER IT FAILED TO RELEASE PROPERLY. LANDED ON ANOTHER OCCASION WITH HIS FULL BOMB LOAD DUE TO AN ENGINE FAILURE. ANOTHER MISSION HAD THEM CONDUCTING A LOW-LEVEL BOMB RUN AT 50 FEET ABOVE A RAILWAY LINE. HE DID AS ORDERED AND FORTUNATELY HIS BOMB SKIPPED OFF AT A 45 DEGREE RIGHT ANGLE TO HIS FLIGHT PATH. WHEN IT DETONATED, THE CONCUSSION MOVED HIS AIRCRAFT SIDEWAYS. IF IT HAD DETONATED ALONG HIS FLIGHT PATH, HIS AIRPLANE WOULD HAVE BEEN DESTROYED. ONE OF HIS CREW BROUGHT A MONKEY, NICKNAMED 'PACKEY,' ABOARD HIS PLANE WITHOUT HIS KNOWLEDGE AND THE MONKEY WAS CREDITED WITH SEVEN MISSIONS. AWARDED THE DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS, AIR MEDAL WITH BRONZE OAK LEAF CLUSTER, AMERICAN CAMPAIGN MEDAL, ASIATIC-PACIFIC CAMPAIGN MEDAL, AND WWII VICTORY MEDAL. HONORABLY DISCHARGED IN JANUARY, 1946, WITH THE RANK OF CAPTAIN AND ISSUED THE HONORABLE SERVICE LAPEL BUTTON.