Troopers Down
Kenneth Charles Wood, age 69, left us on Monday, November 6, 2017, surrounded by the friends and family who loved him dearly. Ken was born March 6, 1948 in Robbins, NC, the second of five children born to Hughene Charles and Ruth Elizabeth Stack Wood. He grew up in High Point, NC and left home at the age of 17 to begin his Army career, a move that would forever guide the rest of his life.
Ken married Patricia Seamon Wood on July 12, 1975 and gained not only a best friend, but a complete family, including three children and a “fuzzy kid.” Ken would prove to be a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, mentor, advocate and good friend to all.
He was especially passionate about his friends and comrades who belonged to the 919th Combat Engineers, 11TH Armored Cavalry Regiment, which was the only armored engineer unit in Vietnam. Kenneth also served as a tank master gunner in the 8th Infantry Division and master gunner and NCOIC Alabama Branch Armor Cavalry Assistance Team 31st Armor Brigade Alabama National Guard. Through his leadership, he was instrumental in continuing the tradition of annual reunions and maintaining camaraderie within this organization. We are fortunate that many of his friends from the 919th were able to visit and reach out to the family, prior to his death.
Surviving are his wife, Pat of the home; daughters Julie (Roger) Carroll of Lexington; Tami (David) Williams of High Point; and son Tom (Jennifer) Wood of Rutherford College. He is survived by seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He is also survived by two sisters, Vickie (Steve) Harvell and Carolyn (Ronnie) Maynard.
The funeral was held on Friday, November 10 at Grace Lutheran Church, where he was a faithful member for many years. Interment was at Floral Garden Cemetery in High Point following the service. Ken had a passion for all things military. He also loved his church and church family passionately. In lieu of flowers, he would be honored for donations/memorials to be sent in his memory to the Fisher House Foundation (111 Rockville Pike, Ste. 420, Rockville, MD 20850) or to the “Pay it Forward” fund of Grace Lutheran Church, 115 Unity St., Thomasville, NC 27360.
Follow Up to the Obituary for Col (R) Justin “Guy” Ballou. The burial for Guy Ballou is scheduled for Tuesday, February 13, 2018, 3 pm, at Arlington National Cemetery. Please note that Arlington suggests that family and friends arrive 35-45 minutes prior to the scheduled service time.
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A New Book with Ties to the Blackhorse
From David Schoenmaker, HHT 2/11, 1969-70
Good friend and fellow Vietnam Veteran Jerry Smith recently published a book about nineteen Ballard High School (Seattle, WA) grads and Vietnam Vets who lost their lives in Vietnam. Among those are two 11 ACR troopers:
PFC Dennis E Springsteen, I-Troop, September 7, 1966 – October 12, 1966, KIA. Dennis was deployed with the 3rd squadron when it sailed on the USNS Barrett from Oakland and landed in Vung Tau.
SP4 Charles Tierney Morton, L-Troop, March 8, 1970 – December 7, 1970, KIA. Chuck was wounded, lost an eye and volunteered to go back to Vietnam and return to his unit.
From the back cover of the book:
“Eighteen names were etched into the Ballard High School Vietnam Memorial Plaque. Ballard graduate and Vietnam veteran Jerry Edward Smith was amazed to learn that so many men from Ballard High were killed in Vietnam. During research it was discovered that even after 48 years later there was one more name to be added. These are their stories.”
The book is available at Amazon:
opens in a new windowhttps://www.amazon.com/Ballard-Nineteen-Jerry-Edward-Smith/dp/1546335781
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A Christmas Message from Our Friends in Germany
Dear Friends,
I hope that this Christmas turns into a joyful celebration for you and your family and that you can tune out the rest of the world for a few days. As the Christmas season approaches, we are all so busy and have so much business to attend to that it is easy to forget to say thanks.
I would just like to take this opportunity to thank you for your friendship in the past
years, and may this holiday season bring you and your family all of the joy and happiness you deserve.
Wishing you peace, love and joy this Christmas and a Happy New Year.
I have attached our Christmas greetings.
As you can see, German-American friendship in Fulda is still alive.
We often think of our friends in the states and sometimes we see them visiting in the museum.
ALLONS!
German-Amercian Friendship,
Culture & Sportsassociation KONTAKT Fulda / Germany and Museum of American Troops in the Fulda Area
Winfried Jäger
