Publisher's Synopsis
Henry L. Wood was born on July 24, 1925, in Taylor Ridge, Illinois. He was a senior in high school, nineteen years old, when he was drafted into the Army. After basic training he received orders to go overseas to Germany. The voyage aboard ship was long, and the seas had waves that came up to about 40 feet; that's taller than a four-story building! The convoy eventually landed in France. Soon, Henry's unit was loaded into boxcars like cattle. The train took them to Belgium, where he received his gun and they moved on to Germany. There, Henry was given his orders and he climbed into a halftrack for the mission. This is a military personnel carrier that is a combination of a military jeep in the front and a tank in the back. The soldiers were leading the attack and were about 40 miles into the undertaking when they heard 88s (German 88mm anti-aircraft and anti-tank artillery guns). They had to leave the halftracks they were on and crowded onto the backs of tanks. Henry was on the fifth tank from the front. The Allies took the first town and as they began heading over a hill, immediately, the enemy opened fire on their tanks. They backed up and used the protection of the hill and then hopped off the tanks and into the ditch along the side of the road. Slowly, they started back over the hill where they dug foxholes (shallow hole in the ground used as protection for soldiers during combat). They organized their plans and started toward the town about a half mile away. They were halfway down the hill when they heard sniper's fire. A sniper is an expert rifleman that can shoot accurately from a far distance. Henry dropped to the ground to protect himself, got halfway up to go on, then he was hit. The shock of being shot knocked him unconscious. When he came to, his arm felt like it had had a massive electric shock and when he looked at his arm, he realized that he had been shot about two inches above his left elbow. He couldn't get to his first aid kit for pain pills, and jumped up and ran over to the other side of the road, all the time holding his arm. Henry was glad to make it across the road, and was all smiles as two figures approached him, thinking they were medics. He then realized that the two figures were the officers in charge! They were wondering what had happened and what he was doing back. Worrying he was in trouble, he dropped his arm. As his arm fell to his side, they realized the situation and called for the medics who were able to help keep the bleeding under control until Henry could be transported to a safe location. The first operation he had kept his arm together and allowed for him to be transported to a hospital. At the hospital, his second operation was done to stabilize his arm better than they could with the resources they had on the battlefield. The third operation required the doctors to re-break his arm so it could heal properly. After his third surgery, he was able to start physical therapy so his arm could work properly. Henry was sent back to the USA and was later honorably discharged from military service due to his injuries. In recognition of his achievements in the military, he was awarded the following: a European African Middle Eastern Theatre Ribbon with one Campaign Star, a Good Conduct Medal, an American Theatre Ribbon, a World War II Victory Ribbon, and a Purple Heart (for being wounded in combat). Young Henry returned home to Taylor Ridge, Illinois after his fourteen months of service. Since he couldn't finish his senior year and graduate before he was drafted into the army, he went back to school, knowing education was important. He graduated from Reynolds High School in 1946 and then married his wife, Nancy, and settled down to a life of farming.
