By Staff
Woolards have fought in WWII, Vietnam, Bosnia as well as Iraq
By DAN PARSONS, Staff Writer
Traditionally, mothers sew blue stars onto a white background for each of their children serving in the military during wartime. Washington resident Audrey Woolard prefers roses.
She displays three roses and a small American flag in a vase. Each rose symbolizes a generation of her family that went to war for this country.
The line of “boys” she referred to begins with her husband Jesse Woolard. They met after World War II. He drove the bus she rode to and from school. They’ve been married 60 years.
As a forward observer with Battery B of the 48th Forward Observer Battalion, Woolard traveled from the Aleutian Islands to see action against the Japanese in the Philippines, northern Solomon Islands and Okinawa
Woolard served in the Army until Oct. 3, 1945, following the surrender by the Japanese. Five and a half years of his life were spent training and fighting in the Pacific. For his efforts, he was awarded three Bronze Stars.
After returning to North Carolina, he married in 1947. The Woolards would have four sons. When American became embroiled in the Vietnam War, their oldest son, Clarence T. “Woody” Woolard, was drafted into the Army, but the Marines got him. Woody Woolard pulled two tours as a “fighting grunt,” one tour in the demilitarized zone near North Vietnam.
Woolard received a Bronze Star for his combat actions and a Purple Heart for wounds suffered during his time fighting in Vietnam.
During his tours of duty in Vietnam, the former Marine said, he recalled his father’s World War II hardships.
When it came time for the former Marine’s son to choose a path in life, that son had his father’s endorsement to join the military. Troy Woolard chose to join the Army. He served in Bosnia.
Woody Woolard’s youngest brother, Jesse Woolard II, was killed in a fire at National Spinning Co. on Sept. 7, 1982. He was a member of the company’s fire brigade. That fire killed three other fire brigade members. After his death, he was honored by the Washington Fire Department. Audrey Woolard keeps her son’s photograph and the American flag presented to her by the fire department on her living room wall. Jesse Woolard II’s son added to the family’s military heritage. He joined the Army and pulled two tours of duty in Iraq. Now, he’s a reservist.
With her husband, son and grandsons having placed their lives on the line in four wars, Audrey Woolard considers herself lucky.