Hometown: Chesapeake, VA
Branch: U.S. Army
Unit: 2nd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne) “Green Beret”
Military Honors: Bronze Star, Purple Heart
Date of Sacrifice: August 16, 2009 - KIA in Ghazni, Afghanistan
Age: 31
Conflict: War in Afghanistan, 2001-2021 

Sgt. 1st Class William B. “Brian” Woods was deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in July 2009 as a member of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan. He was a Special Forces Senior Medical Sergeant.

Woods’ commanding officer, Michael Waltz, wrote of Brian’s courage in an opinion piece for The St. Augustine Record:

On a hot day in the middle of August, Brian’s team, together with an Afghan police unit, went on a mission to help Afghan villagers reopen a bazaar in the Ghazni Province in Eastern Afghanistan that had been shut down by the Taliban. 

Danger was high in this region. One wrong move could mean setting off an improvised explosive device, cutting the mission short and putting everyone’s life at risk. Still, Brian and his team carried on. They began taking fire from across a field. When his heavy armored vehicle got stuck, Brian remained mission-focused and courageously set out on foot.

He could have stayed in his vehicle. He could have sent the Afghan police out front or he could have hung back as the unit’s only medic—any of which would have been acceptable. For months, Brian had thought often of his own death, writing over a dozen letters to his wife, children and fellow Green Berets. 

Despite these premonitions and despite the risk, Brian didn’t sit back and wait. Instead, he led the charge ahead in the face of the enemy. It was an amazing testament to him as a soldier, as a man and as a hero.

Sources
Card Photo: Pam Woods, Gold Star Mother
Pam Woods: A Soldier’s Whisper, May 3, 2016 - Until My Last Dying Breath
The St. Augustine Record: REP. WALTZ: Every 9/11 is a reminder to us all: Be worthy of American sacrifice
Green Beret Foundation: William B. Woods Jr.
Military Times—Honor The Fallen: Army Sgt. 1st Class William B. Woods Jr.
Maryland National Guard: Sergeant First Class William B. Woods, Jr
Burial Site: Find a Grave