Army Sgt. 1st Class William B. Woods Jr.

Died August 16, 2009 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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31, of Chesapeake, Va.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Maryland National Guard, Glen Arm, Md.; died Aug. 16 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, of wounds sustained when he was shot Aug. 14 while on patrol in Ghazni, Afghanistan.

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Flags at half-staff to remember Woods

The Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Gov. Jay Nixon has ordered that flags on all state buildings in Franklin County be flown at half-staff for one week to honor the service of a slain Missouri soldier.

Flags will be flown at half-staff through Sept. 4 in honor of Army Sgt. 1st Class William Brian Woods Jr., 31, of Catawissa, who died Aug. 16 while serving in Ghazni, Afghanistan.

Flags at state buildings throughout Missouri are ordered to be flown at half-staff on the day of his funeral.

Woods was assigned to B Company, 2nd Battalion, Special Forces Group (Airborne), Glen Arm, Md. He had numerous awards and decorations.

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Enjoyed being around his wife, children

The Associated Press

William B. Woods — better known by his middle name, Brian — took his girlfriend to Colorado in January 2007, and she figured the romantic man would propose.

He upped the ante by taking her to pick out a wedding gown for what he planned as a destination wedding, said Patti Russell, the bride’s mother. He was also known as a dedicated family man.

“He would always be beaming when he was around his kids,” said Bob Woods, 58, an uncle who lives near Cincinnati. “And he and his wife ... they really just made a nice couple. They really worked well together. They were happy and in love.”

Woods, 31, of Chesapeake, Va., was shot and killed while on patrol Aug. 16 in Ghazni province. He was a special forces medical sergeant assigned to Glen Arm, Md., who essentially served as a doctor in the field.

Bob Woods said his nephew was an adventurous outdoorsman who enjoyed sports and skydiving.

Woods came from a long line of military men — his father, William B. Woods Sr., served in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. His grandfather, John Woods, was in the Navy in World War II; and his uncles, Johnnie and Bob Woods, served in the Army in Vietnam.

He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, and two daughters, 5-year-old Lily and 1-year-old Ella.