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Leland Roy Wood
was the
quintessential Yankee: austere, a bit aloof, serious, and hard working. Once one
broke through the shell, however, one found a warm, trusted and true friend.
Leland was born on 7 Dec 1931,
a propitious date, in Hollis, NH, the younger of two sons of Francis John and
Thelma Wood. Leland’s father, Francis John, was a veteran of World War I, having
served in the British Army and immigrated to the United States in 1923. Leland
and his older brother Graham grew up in a military tradition and competed with
one another throughout their childhood. Leland, who came to be called Lee,
obtained a senatorial appointment to West Point in the Class of 1954, one year
ahead of his older brother, who became a member of the Class of 1955.
Lee was well prepared for the
academic and military requirements of West Point and breezed through the four
years, finishing in the top quartile of the class. True to his New England
heritage, Lee was an excellent skier. He was a member of the Army Ski Team for
three years and was selected as vice president of the West Point Ski Club in his
first class year.
Upon graduation, Lee chose the
Air Force and was assigned to primary pilot training at Bartow Air Base, FL.
While there, Lee met Dorothy Elliott, a student at Florida Southern College in
Lakeland, FL. Dorothy was a native Floridian and a true southerner. The fact
that this austere Yankee could convince a young girl who was the essence of
southern womanhood to marry him was dramatic proof that the nation’s wounds are
in fact bound. It is also confirmation of Lee’s inner warmth. They were married
in Lake Wales, FL, in March of 1955, after which they departed for Lee’s next
assignment at Goodfellow AFB, TX, to complete his pilot training. Lee earned his
wings in June of 1955 and, inspired by his basic humanity, selected the Air
Rescue Service for his first assignment. Trained in the SA-16 amphibian, Lee
served at Thule AB, Greenland, and then at Westover AFB and Otis AFB, both in
Massachusetts.
Lee’s academic abilities were
recognized by the Air Force, and he was selected for a graduate program in
electrical engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-
Patterson Air Force Base, OH. He successfully completed the course and was
awarded his degree in October of 1960. Lee received a directed duty assignment
to Hanscom AFB, MA, the Air Force center for electronic applications, and a
subsequent assignment to Kirtland AFB, NM.
During these service years,
Dottie and Lee had five children: three boys, Francis John, Robert Leland and
Patrick Thomas, and two girls, Susan Elaine and Kathleen Ann. The Air Force
experienced a shortage of pilots in 1962, however, and Lee received a directed
duty assignment back to the cockpit. He initially stayed at Kirtland AFB to fly
C-47s and then was assigned overseas to Korea in 1964. After completing this
remote assignment, Lee was assigned to Lockbourne AFB, OH, to transition into
C-123 aircraft and remained there as Director of Flying Safety. Then, in 1967,
Lee decided his future lay in the civilian arena. He left the Air Force and
obtained a position as an electrical engineer with the Eastman Kodak Company in
Rochester, NY. Lee worked as a circuit analyst and played a key role in the
company’s transition into computers.
Lee’s service to his country
was not complete. After leaving active duty, Lee joined the Air Force Reserve
with duty station at Niagara Falls, NY. He transitioned into C-130s, satisfied
his reserve requirements, and retired from the reserves in 1980 with the rank of
lieutenant colonel.
Lee worked for Eastman Kodak
for 23 years as one of its lead design engineers. Then, early in 1990, Lee was
diagnosed with cancer, and Eastman Kodak gave him a year’s leave of absence to
fight the disease. He came back to work for a few days, but the disease overcame
him, and he died in November 1990 in
Rochester, NY.
Lee lived a full, rich life
and was a credit to his family and to his country. A deeply religious man, his
strong faith sustained him through his difficult illness. He is buried in
Parrington, NY, a suburb of Rochester, near the workplace he came to love.
—Richard D. Youngflesh,
classmate
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