Opinion: 77 years later, still seeking appropriate honor for a heroic Black medic on D-Day



Waverly B. Woodson Jr. (Family photo)

By Thomas S. James Jr.
June 20, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. EDT

Thomas S. James Jr. is commanding general of First Army.

When I assumed command of the nation’s oldest field Army 2½ years ago, I was humbled by the lineage of heroes in our ranks:

John J. Pershing, architect of the strategy that broke the German war machine in World War I. Omar N. Bradley, commander of U.S. ground and airborne forces on D-Day. Courtney Hicks Hodges, the private who rose to be a general and blunted Germany’s last major offensive in the Ardennes. ... But the story of one First Army soldier has moved me — and broken my heart — more than any other.

In 1944, Waverly B. Woodson Jr., a 21-year-old African American medic, landed on the beaches of Normandy wearing the same patch that is on my uniform today. He valiantly saved dozens, possibly hundreds, of troops on Omaha Beach despite his own severe injuries.

Woodson was denied the nation’s highest award for valor — almost certainly because of the color of his skin. Of the more than 400 Medals of Honor awarded during World War II, none went to the more than 1 million Black troops who served, and history has largely forgotten the nearly 2,000 Black soldiers who were on the beach that day.

A bipartisan congressional bill has been introduced to posthumously award this brave soldier the medal. If it passes, he would join seven other Black WWII troops who were upgraded in 1997. ... This is Woodson’s inspiring story:

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This spring I visited Woodson’s grave in Arlington National Cemetery, and placed our shared First Army patch on its stark white headstone. My command sergeant major, who accompanied me, touched two words etched in the stone: Bronze Star. “That’s wrong,” he said.

I said: “I just hope it will finally be fixed.”