Obituary: William P. Woods / Lithographer and decorated war hero

Obituary: William P. Woods / Lithographer and decorated war hero
March 10, 1925-Jan. 29, 2008
Monday, February 04, 2008
By Steve Twedt, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
World War II hero William P. Woods, who spent 18 months as a German prisoner of war along with his twin brother, died Tuesday of cancer and heart disease. The Shaler resident was 82.
Mr. Woods, who was born in Homewood and later lived in Shadyside, was a retired lithographer who had worked for three Pittsburgh printing companies producing books, annual reports and college catalogs.
"He was very proud of his craft," said his daughter, Kate Cesarz, of Cape Girardeau, Mo.
"He had a very strong work ethic and he took great pride in being meticulous."
His life outside of work revolved around family life, she said, specifically raising seven children with Phyllis, his wife of more than 55 years who died in 2002.
Mr. Woods became something of a local celebrity in 2006 when he received the Bronze Star more than 60 years after his military service.
The honor came for his actions while a member of the Army's 1 st Ranger Battalion, based in North Africa.
The group was sent to Cisterna, Italy, with orders to keep the road to Rome open. But they walked into a German trap and came under heavy fire.
With ammunition running low and with no cover, Mr. Woods ran over to a farmhouse, to a German sniper's post, and lobbed a grenade through a window, killing several enemy soldiers.
But both he and his brother, John, also a ranger, were captured at Cisterna and were forced to work at a German farm camp for 18 months. When Russian troops advanced toward the camp, the Woods brothers and fellow prisoners were forced to march 500 miles to evade them.
After the war, both men were awarded Purple Hearts.
Although Mr. Woods did not boast of his heroics at Cisterna, Mrs. Cesarz felt he should be recognized and wrote a letter to Army officials in 2005. The Bronze Star arrived in the mail the following year.
In addition to his daughter, Mr. Woods, a longtime member of the St. Bonaventure Parish in Shaler, is survived by five other children, Patricia Allott, of Saranac Lake, N.Y., Jann Curti, of Wexford, John Woods, of Gibsonia, Terry McGuire, of Moon, and Betsy Polk, of Wexford; and eight grandchildren.

Obituary: William P. Woods / Lithographer and decorated war hero

 

R.I.P. Mr Woods