Living legend visits Incirlik

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Erica Picariello
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRIL AIR BASE, Turkey --  "This war in Vietnam is, I believe, a war for civilization. Certainly it is not a war of our seeking. It is a war thrust upon us and we cannot yield to tyranny," said Francis Cardinal Spellman, ninth bishop and sixth archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, of the Vietnam War. 

Forty years later, America refused to bow to tyranny once again as the nation watched the 9/11 tragedies and within 191 days, engaged in combat in a foreign land. 

Many Airmen in today's Air Force live vicariously through the stories of their family members or older friends, possibly gaining courage and knowledge through their advice but one Air Force reservist has seen this deadly war, first hand. 

"I can remember being just south of Saigon, sleeping, as a rocket hit the tent three tents from mine," said Tech. Sgt. Maurice Wood, C-17 Globmaster III crew chief from the 452nd Air Mobility Wing, March Air Reserve Base, Calif. "I saw a fellow soldier blown in half but, we were lucky. We only lost one man from my platoon and I dealt with it because, that's what I was there for. This was war." 

Sergeant Wood, temporarily stationed at Incirlik, enlisted in March 1967 because he knew that if he didn't volunteer for the Air Force he would be drafted by the Army.
"My grandfather drove me one-hundred miles to the nearest Air Force recruiting station where I took the entrance exam and passed." 

After getting permission from the Army, who were badly in need of men, Sergeant Wood went off to basic military training and then to McDill AFB, Fla. 

"At my first duty station I volunteered to go over to Vietnam," said Sergeant Wood. "All of my buddies were going over to fight and I wanted to see what war was like." 

Though some of the things that he saw were devastating enough to cause post traumatic stress disorder, Sergeant Wood fed off of the positive outlook on life that his grandparents taught and still saw joy in the midst of battle. 

"I can remember sitting on the end of the flightline with my buddy, watching the tracers fly by us at dusk," this crew chief said. "Despite what was going on around us, we still had a good time... most of us went to high school together so we were able to go out, have a few drinks and listen to music." 

Sergeant Wood finished a year tour in Vietnam and then came back to McChord AFB, Wash., to find a stricter regime. 

"When I came back from Vietnam, they wanted me to shine my boots and cut my hair," said Sergeant Wood. "I wasn't happy with that so, I volunteered to go back!"
After separating from the Air Force for 17 years, the allure of benefits and travel brought him back to the blue. 

"I was working at the post office, and around 1984, I started thinking about the travel opportunities, benefits and decided to re-enlist into the Air Force Reserves in 1988," the crew chief said. "I was a crew chief for C-141 Starlifters in San Bernardino, Calif., and then our unit moved to March AFB, Calif., where I became a C-17 crew chief." 

In 2003, Sergeant Wood's reserve unit was activated for two years in support Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

"I'm actually glad that I was in Vietnam because it prepared me for war," Sergeant Wood said. "We would fly into Bagdad at night, either picking up wounded troops or caskets at night and transport them to Germany for treatment or take the fallen heroes to Dover AFB, Dela." 

Decades later, some memories still bring tears to his eyes but, given the chance, he still wouldn't change his decision to enlist or trade the memories. 

"I credit the Air Force for everything that I've been able to do," said Sergeant Wood. "This small town Virginia boy would never have gotten to visit more than a dozen countries if it weren't for the opportunities the Air Force provided me."