Spc Edwin C. L. Wood
Born: August 28, 2024
Died: July 5, 2024 in Afghanistan
Spc. Edwin C. Wood of Omaha, Nebraska is a 2009 graduate of Omaha North High School where he was a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps, and the drama club, working behind the scenes building sets and operating lights and sound. He worked as a counselor at Camp Pokamoke, a horse camp for children during his summer vacations from school. He was known for his dedication to service and would complete any task to full satisfaction that he was given. Eddie, as he was best known, had been wearing military clothes almost since he was a toddler. His father is active as an early American soldier re-enactor, and from an early age Eddie joined in, too. As a young boy, he would wear a three-corner hat over his red hair and carry a water bucket behind the cannon as other re-enactors walked in parades. In more recent years, he had his own period infantry uniform, muzzle loader and saber. He joined the Army in October 2009 and arrived to Fort Drum April 2010. Eddie had been in Afghanistan since May of 2010, and he wanted to take his leave early so he could be home for the 4th of July with his family. However, his leave was bumped up to June and by the 29th he was back in the war zone. His awards and decorations include the Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and Combat Action Badge. He died at age 18 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. In addition to his parents, Tom Wood, and Janis Boehmer, he leaves his brother, Thomas Jr., and a sister, Isabeau Tholen. Eddie was posthumously awarded, the Purlpe Heart, Bronze Star, and the NATO Medal.
Army
1st Squadron
71st Armor Regiment
1st Brigade Combat Team
10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry)
Fort Drum, New York
Burial is at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Omaha, Nebraska
The Spc Edwin C. L. Wood by Freedom Remembered, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
