Harold M Woods

Military
media-23690.jpeg UPL 23690 Westrope Crew, 708th Squadron, 447th Bomb Group. Photo taken at Rattlesden. Standing in front of B-17 "Satchel Lass" (42-31185). Judging from the mission marks on the plane, this was taken after April-May 1944; probably autumn 1944. Satchel Lass crash-landed near Honington, England on September 9, 1944 and was repaired at Rattlesden and returned to combat duty. The presence of Sgt. Robert Orlosky, the crew chief for "Milk Wagon" (43-37756), which the Westrope crew flew for the last third of their combat tour, suggests that the photo was taken at the end of that tour in late October, 1944. Satchel Lass was simply a convenient backdrop.

Back Row: Otto Moreland, Robert Westrope, Harold Motz, Warren Callahan, Oscar Flores; Front Row: Joseph Pfeiffer, Robert Orlosky, Edwin Wells, Harold Woods. Missing from photo and thus probably the photographer, Willard "Bill" Lawrence.

As far as has been determined, this crew never actually flew this aircraft. It is interesting that in contrast to the official crew photo taken before the Westrope crew left the US for England in which officers and enlisted men are in separate rows, in this photo officers and enlisted men are mixed together.

Timothy Motz

Object Number - UPL 23690 - Westrope Crew, 708th Squadron, 447th Bomb Group. Photo taken at Rattlesden. Standing in front of B-17 "Satchel Lass" (42-31185). Judging from the...

Born in Orienta, Oklahoma, on November 30, 1923, Harold was the son of Maggie Myrtle (Scarbrough) and Dana McCoy Woods. He was a World War II veteran, serving in the Army Air Corps as a top turret gunnery engineer in a B-17. He flew 36 missions over Germany and was discharged after 2 ½ years as a Tech Sergeant. He earned three Bronze Battle Stars, Good Conduct Medal, Air Medal and a Distinguished Flying Cross.



On February 9, 1947, he married Betty Louella Osborne in Altus, Oklahoma.



Harold graduated from Southwestern Oklahoma State University with a BS in pharmacy. He was owner/operator of Woods Pharmacy in Rule, Texas, for 27 years. He was a member of Rotary International, Optimist Club working with the soap box derby in Lawton, Okla., and the Rule Chamber of Commerce.

Connections

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Units served with

Missions

  • Date: 13 August 1944
  • Date: 11 August 1944
  • Date: 8 August 1944

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Orienta, OK 73729, USA 30 November 1923

Died

Abilene, TX, USA 10 March 2006

Revisions

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Timothy Motz

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Timothy Motz; from a mission list kept by Harold Motz and compared to Doyle Shields, "History of the 447th Bomb Group."

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Timothy Motz; from a mission list kept by Harold Motz and compared to Doyle Shields, "History of the 447th Bomb Group."

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Birth and deth information and biography added by Timothy Motz from obituary:
http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=woods&GSfn=Harold&GSm…;

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Timothy Motz, from notes on a crew photo from Harold Motz, 2016

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ContributorLucy May
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Brought in information from duplicate record. Source:
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Unit History Roster, Enlisted Men, as of 01 August 1945

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Timothy Motz from Westrope crew photo

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Timothy Motz from Westrope crew photo

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Timothy Motz from Westrope crew photo

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Timothy Motz from Westrope crew photo

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Timothy Motz from Westrope crew photo

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Timothy Motz from Westrope crew photo

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Timothy Motz from Westrope crew photo

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Timothy Motz from Westrope crew photo

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Timothy Motz from Westrope crew photo

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Timothy Motz from Westrope crew photo

Harold M Woods: Gallery (35 items)