Army Pfc. Eric P. Woods

Died July 9, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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26, of Omaha, Neb.; assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.; killed July 9 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.

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Nebraska Army medic killed in Iraq

Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. — An Army medic from the area has died in Iraq in the line of duty, according to the man’s father.

Eric Paul Woods, 26, of Omaha, was killed by an explosion early Saturday morning in Iraq when he stopped to help a wounded soldier on the side of a road, said his father, Charles Woods of Urbandale, Iowa.

The elder Woods said his son had talked to his family only hours before he died, saying during the phone call that he had turned down an offer to be moved from the front lines of the war.

“He wanted to stay and help his fellow soldiers,” Charles Woods said.

The younger Woods was a member of G-Troop, 2nd Squadron, 3rd Army Calvary, based out of Fort Carson, Colo. The troop’s operating base is in Tal Afar, Iraq.

His father said he had moved to Omaha a few years ago and joined the Army in April last year. He was deployed to Iraq in March.

Eric Woods grew up in Urbandale and graduated from Urbandale High School 1997. He is survived by his wife of seven years, Jamie, and his 3-year-old son, both of whom live in Omaha.
 

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Fort Carson renaming clinic for Nebraska soldier

The Associated Press

FORT CARSON, Colo. - Fort Carson is renaming its soldier family care clinic in honor of a combat medic from Nebraska who was killed in Iraq in 2005.

The clinic will be formally named the Pfc. Eric P. Woods Soldier Family Care Center on Friday.

Woods was assigned to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, which was based at Fort Carson at the time.

Woods was 26 and listed his hometown as Omaha. The Defense Department said he was trying to help a wounded soldier when his vehicle struck a bomb and overturned.

Woods was married and had a son.

His father, Charles Woods, said Pfc. Woods had spoken with his family hours before he died and told them he had turned down an offer to be moved off the front lines.

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Army names family clinic in honor of Iowa native

The Associated Press

URBANDALE, Iowa — A new family medical clinic at an Army post in Colorado has been named in honor of an Iowa native who was killed in Iraq.

The Des Moines Register reports that the name of Pfc. Eric Woods is gracing the Soldier Family Care Center at Fort Carson, Colo.

The 26-year-old Woods, a medic, was killed July 9, 2005. He died when a bomb went off as he was helping evacuate a wounded soldier.

Woods graduated from Urbandale High School, where he played football, baseball and wrestled.

About two dozen friends and relatives of Woods attended a dedication ceremony at the clinic last month. They included his wife, Jamie, and their son, Eric Scott Woods, who live in Omaha.

His parents, Chuck and Jan Woods, live in Urbandale.