Paul Leroy Woodard

Staff Sergeant Paul Leroy Woodard was born on July 8, 1935 in Downington, Pennsylvania. His hometown of record was Camden, New Jersey.

Paul Leroy Woodard enlisted in the United States Marine Corps around 1954. He last reenlisted on January 16, 1963 in Philadelphia, PA. He arrived in Vietnam on August 20, 1967, where he was assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd Marine Division. A career Marine, he had been promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant by March of 1968. During March, the Battalion was located at a strongpoint northwest of the Khe Sanh Combat Base in Huong Hoa District in northern Quang Tri Province. The Marines were participating in ongoing Operation SCOTLAND. On March 15, defensive positions were hit with several barrages of NVA 82mm mortar fire; one of these incoming hostile rounds killed Staff Sergeant Woodard.

Staff Sergeant Woodard, in charge of the Weapons Platoon, Alpha Company, was standing in the entrance to his bunker when a mortar round killed him. A fellow Marine described the incident:

Staff Sergeant Paul Woodard — he was killed just five feet away from me that day — took a freak round just as we were going out on patrol… and Woody, being the Marine that he was — God bless him — he said, ‘Carl! Get that helmet on!’ I was just getting ready to put it on — and just then the round came in… It hit on the right-hand side of the trench, right on the top part, and it exploded there, but a freak fragment got him. And what really hurt is Woody — they had just adopted a baby boy, and Woody used to send tapes home all the time…

SSgt Woodard was the husband of Kazuko Woodard and dear father of Danny T.M. Woodard of Jacksonville, NC. He was the son of Michelle E. Woodward and Althea Woodard of Camden, New Jersey, and at the time of his death a veteran of over fourteen years of service in the U.S. Marine Corps.

He was awarded the Purple Heart. Paul Leroy Woodard is honored on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Panel 44E, Line 063.

He is buried at Lakeview Memorial Park, Cinnaminson, New Jersey.

Paul, I miss you so much. Semper Fi forever.

— Slogee Sye, cousin — May 17, 2003