World War II Honoree

Norbert Vincent Woods

Branch of Service

U.S. Marine Corps

Hometown

Schenectady, New York

Honored By

Michael Lynett

Enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, attended basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina, then joined Reserve Officers Class Quantico, Virginia. Upon graduation, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and stationed at the U.S. Naval Prison in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where he developed the institution's first release program. During World War II, with the 5th Marine Division, 28th Regiment, 3rd Battalion, H Company he trained at Camp Pendleton, California, and Hawaii's Parker Ranch. He fought in the battle of Iwo Jima where the 28th Regiment captured Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945, a feat memorialized by the unforgettable photograph of the raising of the American flag. His regiment was then one of the first to land at the Sasebo Naval Base in Japan.