Woods, Larry

Larry Woods was born December 17, 1947 in Pittsburgh.  Larry grew up there against the backdrop of the 1950s, which he remembers as an idyllic time.  His father worked in a steel mill, supporting Larry and his many siblings as best he could.  Life in the 50s was good, and Larry recalls games with his friends, early TV, and especially the music; his high school guidance counselor wasn’t too optimistic about his college choices, and it was at that time that Larry chose to follow in his older brother’s footsteps, joining the airforce. Larry was assigned to the security police, where he would serve from May 1966 to March 1970.  He was stationed on a number of bases across the upper midwest, where Larry found the temperatures so cold that he volunteered to go to Vietnam.  Once there, from October 1967 to October 1968, Larry served in his capacity as security police, guarding the base at Tuy Hoa.  Most of the time that meant long nights in a bunker, fending off sleep; but they also dealt with persistent sniper fire, and on one occasion Viet Cong sappers infiltrated the base, blowing up aircraft on the base.  That led to an intense firefight where Larry and the other men managed to secure the base.  Larry finished his year safely though, and returned home to a country that was searching its soul about Vietnam.  Larry Woods joined Crestwood students via zoom in May 2023, when he and fellow Vietnam vet Cliff Fejfar shared their stories and thoughts with Mr. Masters’ Grade 10 history class:  we thank the Veterans’ Breakfast Club for the introductions.