WASHINGTON -- Waverly B.Woodson Jr., who was part of the only African American combat unit involved in the D-Day invasion during World War II, spent more than a day treating wounded troops under heavy German fire — all while injured himself.
Decades later, his family is receiving the Distinguished Service Cross he was awarded posthumously for his heroism.Woodson, who died in 2005, received the second-highest honor that can be bestowed on a member of the Army in June, just days before the 80th anniversary of Allied troops' landing in Normandy, France.His widow, Joann, his son Steve and other family will be presented with the medal Tuesday during a ceremony in Washington hosted by Maryland Sen.
Chris Van Hollen.The award marked an important milestone in a yearslong campaign by his widow, Van Hollen and Woodson's supporters in the military who have pushed for greater recognition of his efforts that day.Ultimately, they would like to see him honored with the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration that can be awarded by the U.S.
government and one long denied to Black troops who served in World War II.If Woodson is awarded the Medal of Honor, it would be the “final step in the decades-long pursuit of justice and the recognition befitting of Woodson’s valor,” Van Hollen said in a statement.Troops from Woodson's former unit, First Army, took the Distinguished Service Cross — which is awarded for extraordinary heroism — to France and in an intimate ceremony laid the medal in the sands of Omaha Beach, where a 21-year-old Woodson came ashore decades earlier.At a time when the U.S.military was still segregated by race, about 2,000 African American troops are believed to have taken part in the invasion that proved to be a turning point in pushing back the Nazis and eventually ending World War II.On June 6, 1944, Woodson’s unit, the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, was responsible for setting up balloons to deter enemy planes.
Two shells hit his landin...