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A La Crosse Marine, Pfc. Curtis S. Woods, 19, son of Mrs. Emma Woods, 1204 Badger St., was killed in action in Vietnam.
He died April 12, 1969 from hand grenade fragment wounds. He was with a squad patrol about 20 miles southwest of Da Nang in Quang Nam Province when it was ambushed.
He was born Jan. 30, 1950. A 1968 graduate of Central High School, he enlisted in the Marines in July. He had been stationed in Vietnam since February 13. He is the 25th La Crosse serviceman to die in the Vietnam war.
He is survived by his mother; three brothers, James at home, T. Sgt. William of Forbes Air Force Base, Topeka, Kansas, and Army Spec. 4 John, stationed at Chu Lai, Vietnam; seven sisters, Mrs. Albert (Jean) Lee, Mrs. Ray (Eleanor) George, Mrs. Floyd J. (Maxine) Sheely, and Mrs. Jack (Lauretta) Hether, all of La Crosse, Mrs. Lyell (Deloris) Phillips of Minneapolis, Mrs. Eugene (Doris) Martine of Chaseburg, and Mrs. Albert (Marjorie) Lubben of Scottsbluff, Neb.
He was preceded in death by his father and two brothers.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday in Bible Baptist Church, 7th and Ferry Sts. Rev. Leon Franck will officiate and burial will be in Woodlawn Cemetery. Friends may call at the Schumacher Funeral Home from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday and from 1 p.m. until service time Friday at the church.
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Steven C. Russell
Curtis Woods was killed in the line of duty on April 12th, 1969 in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam.
He was serving with the marines
Susan White (Green)
Curtis and I walked together at graduation. I remember he was a drummer in the band. In the 1980’s I visited the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington DC and found his name. It is on Panel 27W Line 069.
Sue Mihalovic (Calloway)
Curtis’ brother was married to my sister.....Curt was a quiet sole with a good heart! He entered the service right out of graduation n was killed soon after....his brother was in Vietnam at the same time and that was not supposed to happen.....no two brothers were supposed to be in the area at the same time! His brother, Bill Woods, has now joined him in Heaven! Bill kept Curt’s flag on his wall at all times to honor him! Bless them both!
Eric Paul Hartwig
Curtis and I learned to play the drums together at Lincoln, he was a good guy.... we did summer band together and a visting instructor from Longfellow threw his baton at us... guess we missed a beat but so did Mr. S..he missed us and I don't think we gave him his baton back. Seemed like the right thing to do... EPH
Caroline Stuckey (McClure)
I, too, traced his name with my hand on The Wall. We worked together at Rudy’s A&W the summer after graduation. Curtis was always so sweet. It’s sad that he didn’t have the chance to live a longer life.
John Herman De Dakis
Robert A. Black
I'm so touched by all the remembrances of Curtis, from Steve's post in 2016, through the most recent ones. John, you're photo is moving, since it shows one of the brilliances of Maya Lin's design...namely, "reflection". I did work in D.C. on special gov't research facilities in the 1980's, 90's and early 2000's. I always planned my trips at the end of the week, so I could stay over weekends and make my personal "pilgramage" to this extraordinary memorial to human sacrifice (also, the Korean and WWII memorials are powerful!) While I was not in High School band and didn't know Curt as closely as many others, nonetheless, he was part of our "tribe"...Central Class of '68. And, that he was not a year yet out of high school when he was killed in action is so sad. I did a rubbing of his name off the wall and brought it to one of our earlier reunions (I think it's in with our other Central memorabilia). Every trip to D.C. I've taken since, I go to the Wall and pay my respects for the sacrifice Curt and the thousands of others made for all of us and our freedoms. Over the years, I've watched full-dress soldiers reach out and touch comrades names on that wall as they stood there and wept. After a moment, they would salute and move on with their lives. Families did the same. Over time, the vets and their tents (to keep the flame alive for P.O.W.'s) set up at the head of the Wall's entry sidewalk near the Lincoln Memorial have faded, and the amount of flowers seen along the black granite wall have diminished. Yet, there is still a deep feling connection we share, as in these recent postings here, and I'm glad for that. I took the photo above on October 12, 2002, exactly 33 yrs, 6 mos. from the day Curtis was killed. While his name is in the center of this photo, I composed it so it also shows so many of the other (too young men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice, and who, like Curtis, have friends and relatives who will not forget them.