Staff Sgt. Lawrence Woods Buried at Arlington 50 Years Later

Staff Sgt. Lawrence Woods was shot down while on tour in Vietnam in 1964. His remains have been found and laid to rest with his group last week at Arlington.

Staff Sgt. Lawrence Woods from Clarksville Tennessee was aboard his C-123 Provider aircraft when it was shot down on 24 October 1964 while resupplying the U.S. Special Forces camp at Bu Prang, Vietnam. Also on board were Air Force service members,

• Capt. Valmore W. Bourque
• 1st Lt. Edward J. Krukowiski
• 1st Lt. Robert G. Armstrong
• Staff Sgt. Ernest J. Halvorson
• Staff Sgt. Theodore B. Phillips
• Airman 1st Class Eugene Richardson
• Army Pfc. Charles P. Sparks.

Military forces arrived on scene right away and recovered the previous seven but never found Staff Sgt. Woods so the 7 were laid to rest in 1964. In 2010, officials near the crash site unearthed a metal identification tag from the aircraft’s commander and also human remains that were confirmed to be those of Air Force Staff Sgt. Lawrence Woods.

I can't even imagine what that must be like for his family, after 50 years. Staff Sgt. Lawrence Woods was a given a proper burial last Friday, 21 March, at Arlington National Cemetery and a ceremony to honor their crew as a whole. Salute!