William T. Wood

Posted to Facebook by NBC CT's Heidi Voight on February 23, 2016

HONOR & REMEMBER: Sgt Bill Wood, Terryville CT: 71 years ago today, five days into the battle of Iwo Jima, United States Marines raised the American flag on Mount Suribachi. Nearly 7,000 American lives were lost in that battle, one of the bloodiest of WW2. But one of the men who made it home was Sgt Bill Wood of Terryville.

I met Bill almost seven years ago at a ceremony at the Iwo Jima Memorial in Newington. He served from 1942 to 1945 with the 4th Marine Division in the Central Pacific, and was a proud veteran, serving as a charter member of the Iwo Jima Survivors Association.

I interviewed Bill for a documentary I was working on; it was part of my dream to capture the stories of our aging WW2 veterans, particularly our precious few Iwo Jima survivors. I can still vividly remember the tears that welled in Bill's eyes as he recalled the sight of that flag being hoisted over Mt. Suribachi.

"I think the flag means a lot to everybody," he told me. "But anybody who saw it up on top of Mount Suribachi at Iwo Jima, it brings tears to your eyes."

He was there. He saw it.

He fought. He survived.

In October 2011, Bill passed away. He was 88 years old. For the rest of my life, I'll be grateful that I got to shake the hand of an American hero like Bill Wood. I'm humbled that I was allowed to watch the faraway look in his eye as he shared a memory from an experience far beyond my generation's scope of comprehension.

WW2 veterans like Bill Wood are a vanishing national treasure. Of the 16 million Americans who served, about 697,000 remain. An average of 430 die every day, according to VA figures. And right here in Connecticut, fewer than 8,500 or so are still with us.

Government figures estimate that by the year 2036, there will be no living WW2 veterans left in America. Many will take their stories to the grave.

If you are lucky enough to know a vet, please take the time to talk with them, and really listen to what they're willing to share with you. They are living history, and we owe them our utmost respect and appreciation.

Do it now. You'll be glad you did.

"Our flag does not fly because the wind blows it. It flies with the last breath of every soldier who died defending it."