1st Cav to honor WWII vet in ceremony

FORT HOOD, TX, UNITED STATES

03.24.2015

Courtesy Story

Fort Cavazos Public Affairs Office

FORT HOOD, Texas – The 1st Cavalry Division will honor a 96-year-old First Team World War II veteran by presenting him the wartime service awards he never received in a ceremony Friday, March 27 at 1300 on Cooper Field.

Sgt. Clinton A. Woodley was born Dec. 17, 1918, in Paducah, Texas. He is the youngest of five siblings and is the only surviving child.

Woodley enlisted in the U.S. Army on July 31, 1940, but he tells the tale "I joined on the 7th day of the 7th month in the 7th Cav," in reference to the Division’s storied 7th Cavalry Regiment.
Initially stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, where he rode the Texas-Mexico border on horseback between Fort Bliss and El Paso, Woodley arrived in the Pacific Theater on July 11, 1943, as an infantryman assigned to G Troop, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.

Over the next two years, two months, and 11 days, he participated in the division’s campaigns to liberate the Bismarck Archipelago, Luzon, New Guinea, the Southern Philippines and the Admiralty Islands, before returning to the U.S. on Sept. 6, 1945.

Woodley was honorably discharged on Sept. 13, 1945, having earned the Bronze Star Medal, Philippine Liberation Medal, American Defense Service Medal, and Asiatic-Pacific Service Medal with 4 bronze service stars, the World War II Victory Medal, the American Campaign Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

Sgt. Woodley was never officially presented his awards for his time in service.

Interested media representatives who wish to attend the award ceremony must RSVP no later than Thursday, March 26, at 5 p.m. The event link up time is 12:00 p.m. at the Fort Hood Visitor Center.

Media representatives interested in covering the event, please click here.

Check the First Team Facebook page for schedule changes: www.facebook.com/1stCavDiv

• Date Taken: 03.24.2015
• Date Posted: 03.24.2015 11:17
• Story ID: 157883
• Location: FORT HOOD, TX, US