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Grayson Cooper Woodbury Jr. was
born in Fort Hayes, OH on February 4, 1932 to Grayson and Catherine
Woodbury. His father was a career Army officer, West Point Class of
1917. Woody was raised in Havre de Grace, MD. After graduating from
Havre de Grace High School in 1949, he followed in his father’s
footsteps by seeking an appointment to West Point. He attended
Columbia Preparatory School for a year. He was appointed by Maryland
Senator Millard Tydings and entered with the USMA Class of 1954 on
July 5, 1950.
His time at West Point was well described in the 1954 Howitzer: “The
rigors of West Point didn’t agree with Woody’s free and easy
disposition, but he managed to take them in his stride. Neither
academics nor the Tactical Department seemed to bother him very
much. Always eager to lend a helping hand, the Army will find him as
we have—ready to serve and do a good job.” At the Academy he was
active in extracurricular activities to include the French Club,
Dialectic Society, Debate Council and the Escort Committee.
Commissioned in Infantry after graduation, he
reported to Fort Benning, GA in August 1954 to attend the Infantry
Officer Basic Course. In accordance with Army policy in the early
50s, all members of the Class of 1954 who were commissioned in the
Army were assembled at Fort Benning in January 1955 to take Airborne
and/or Ranger training. As a good Infantry officer, Woody took both.
It was during this time that Woody’s military career was launched
into an area of the world that would later become the primary arena
for the combat experiences of the Class of 1954.
A group of assignment officers from Washington, DC
was at Fort Benning in January 1955 to interview all of the members
of the Class of 1954 who had studied French at West Point. Nine
classmates were selected, and as one classmate recalled, “We were
recruited into the CIA.” Following familiarization training with the
CIA in Washington, DC and at Camp Perry, VA, the four who were most
proficient in French (which included Woody) were sent for a one-year
classified assignment in Vietnam. The other five went to Thailand to
work with the Thai Border Patrol Police. As such, Second Lieutenant
Woody Woodbury was involved in forging a new era for the U.S. Army
that would occupy the Class of 1954 and the Nation for the next two
decades.
On his return from Vietnam in 1956, Woody was again
assigned to the Home of the Infantry at Fort Benning. It was then
that he married his outgoing high school sweetheart, Rosalee
Hollahan, a Towson State graduate who accompanied him on his
assignments in Germany, Leavenworth, France, Tunisia and New York.
She was a teacher and taught children on base in various
assignments.
Initially he served with the 3rd Infantry Division,
and then from 1958 to 1960 he was an instructor at the Infantry
School. His service with the 7th Infantry Division in Germany from
1961 to 1964 included company command.
He was selected to attend the Command and General
Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS in 1965. Following graduation
he returned to Vietnam where he served with the Military Assistance
Advisory Group. Following his second tour in Vietnam, his knowledge
of French was again a factor in his assignments.
Woody was selected to become a French instructor at
West Point. In preparation for that assignment he spent a year of
French studies at Middlebury College in Vermont and a year studying
in Paris, France. He served as a French instructor at West Point
from 1968 to 1971. During the period from 1971 until his retirement
in 1975, he served in Cambodia, as a Military Attaché to the U.S.
Embassy in Tunisia and with the Army Recruiting Command at Fort
Sheridan, IL.
Retirement was just a change of direction for Woody.
He earned a PhD degree in economics, which launched his second
career as a professor of economics at Oakton Community College in
Des Plaines, IL. He held that position until 1992 when he relocated
to Bel Air, MD, which was in very close proximity to his hometown of
Havre de Grace, MD.
Woody’s wife of 41 years, the former Rosalee
Hollahan, died in 1998. At the time of his death in 2005 his wife of
six years, the former Johanna Nealon; a stepson, Mark Nealon; and
two stepdaughters, Maria Jones and Linda Schmelter, survived him.
The grandchildren always listened in awe as Grayson
told stories about his life. He met the Queen of England while in
the Honor Guard in Washington, DC, he used his French skills to
translate for President Nixon in Cambodia, and what kid doesn’t want
to hear stories about parachuting into jungles? They were amazed to
find out that Grayson’s father attended West Point with Dwight D.
Eisenhower 1915, and that as a child he had lived next door to
General Patton 1909. His service travels and education were a great
example.
Woody was an avid bridge player and enjoyed travel.
His classmates, friends and family will remember him as he was
described in the Howitzer—always
eager to lend a helping hand and ready to serve. “Well Done! Be Thou
at Peace!”
— Classmates Ken Bailey and Jim Henry |
