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Eric
P. Woods—September
2005 Shipment Honoree
Army
Spc., 26, of Omaha, Neb.; assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 3rd
Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.; killed July 9,
2005 when his Humvee struck an improvised explosive device,
causing it to overturn, in Tal Afar, Iraq. Woods was in the
area to evacuate another soldier who had been wounded.
Fallen medic from Urbandale ‘went above and beyond’
Source:
Elizabeth Owens, DesMoinesRegister.com (11 July 2005)
In life, U.S. Army medic
Pfc. Eric Paul Woods cared for others, his family said Sunday.
The 26-year-old private
first class from Omaha was killed Saturday about 6:20 a.m.
Iraq time while traveling to help a wounded soldier. He was
the 31st Iowan to be killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Lt. Col. Gregory Hapgood,
the Iowa National Guard's public affairs officer, said Woods
was near Tal Afar, Iraq, when an explosive device detonated
under his vehicle. The vehicle flipped and Woods was killed.
No information was available on whether there were others in
the vehicle.
Woods grew up in Urbandale,
where his parents, Chuck and Jan Woods, still live. Jan Woods
talked to her son on Friday, about 15 hours before he died.
She said he told her he was doing OK and he talked about
coming home in September. But later that day, Jan Woods got
the feeling that something was wrong.
Jan Woods said that they
tried to send a letter and at least one package to their son
each week. At his request, the packages contained toys, candy
and soccer balls for the children in Iraq. The couple also
sent items that Eric said would help other soldiers: foot
powder, moist towelettes and lip balm. "As a medic he would
hand that out," Chuck Woods said. "He went above and beyond."
Woods joined the Army in
April 2004 and was sent to Iraq in March. His parents said
that he and his wife, Jamie, were concerned about the war, but
they made the decision together. His family said he planned to
become a physician's assistant. "He had a lot of things left
to do in life," Jan Woods said.
Bob Stouffer, superintendent
at Des Moines Christian School, was principal at Urbandale
High School when Eric Woods graduated in 1997. "It doesn't
surprise me that his death comes as he was serving his country
and helping someone else," Stouffer said.
Woods is survived by his
wife, Jamie; his 3-year-old son, his parents and three
siblings. His parents have set up an e-mail address,
rememberingeric@qwest.net, for people who want to support
their son's squadron. Woods belonged to the G Troop, 2nd
Squadron of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, based out of
Fort Carson, Colo. | 
