Honoring a legend: Woody Woodard PANTHER 27

Hey everyone,

Sam here - I’m thrilled to be your new community manager! Thank you for your patience over the past few months. I'm excited to update you on the projects we're currently working on!

Vietnam Cobra Pilot Reacts to Audio of His Own SOG Mission - CW3 Joseph "Woody" Woodard - YouTube

Fist off, on a somber note, I’m finally finished with and uploading our podcast with the late great Chief Woody Woodard, callsign PANTHER 27, who flew hundreds of missions with the 361st AWC "Pink Panthers" in support of CCC during his 20-month tour in Vietnam. We lost Woody this past May, and it broke my heart. He was youthful, vibrant, friendly, and just an awesome guy. His passing was completely unexpected, and he is missed dearly by his loved ones and brothers in arms.

Amazing photo of Chief Woody in the pilot's seat of his warbird, courtesy of his front seater/gunner

Woody’s tour included 29 January, 1971, when he flew in support of RT Hawaii and RT Colorado during a rare dual Prairie Fire Emergency. That day, his Cobra took hits as he and his fire team fought desperately to save both recon teams. Against all odds, the 361st AWC, 57th AHC, Covey pilot Mike Cryer and Covey Rider John Plaster, as well as additional Air Force Spads and other branch aviators managed to extract RT Hawaii and a battered RT Colorado after the team had been nearly overrun and split apart when a B40 rocket struck David “Lurch” Mixter, killing him instantly. Moments earlier, Lurch had shoved his teammate, Lyn St. Laurent, to the ground, saving his life.

Incredibly, this entire mission was recorded by the crew of 57th AHC “Gladiators” UH-1 slick White Lead. In the summers of 2022 and 2023, our legendary CCS Huey Crew Chief and dear friend, Don Haase, and I spent well over 100 hours decoding the chaotic, fast-paced tape and building a transcript of every transmission to the best of our ability. That transcript became an invaluable tool for Woody and me as we navigated the audio together last year, and I am proud to feature it in this episode. If you'd like to learn more about the mission, listen to Tilt's SOGCast 10 with Major John "Plasticman" Plaster.

Our good friend, Marine Cobra Pilot, and author of Operation Tailwind Colonel Barry Pencek connected me with Woody at SOAR in 2023. Woody excitedly and graciously invited our film and media specialist Paul and me into his home last year to record an interview for Paul's upcoming documentary and a podcast. In the podcast, we listen together to the full 45 minutes of audio from the two-hour battle that raged in Laos. Woody’s insight and commentary bring the events to life in a way only he could. It is hard to release this posthumously, but I am grateful we got an early version to him while he was recovering from surgery last year. After the war, Woody continued to serve, dedicating his life to being an EMS pilot - a testament to the incredibly selfless individual he was.

Woody flew EMS for 35 years after his Army service.

Painted on Woody's Cobra was a decal of Woody Woodpecker drinking a beer - classic. I hope you will join us in honoring his legacy when the podcast drops soon on our YouTube channel. It's worth noting as well, this tape is the same one heard in the conclusion to our SOG Prairie Fire campaign. Segments can be heard played from radios in-game too. Woody and his brothers are forever immortalized in this game. I hope you'll think of them when you hear the PANTHER call-signs.

Woody and his sons Andy (L) and Michael (R)

Michael snaps a dinnertime selfie with his brother and dad at SOAR.

Woody's experience and humility not only made him an exceptional soldier and pilot, but his sons Michael and Andy attested to his incredible impact he had on them as a dad. Respectively US Air Force and Navy veterans themselves, both joined me for a short but sweet talk about their dad last week, which I will be including at the end of the podcast. Definitely stick around for this. They share some awesome stories about growing up with a Cobra pilot dad. Woody gets World's Coolest Dad (and granddad!) award from me after hearing their stories. Thanks to Michael for sending me these awesome pictures of Woody. Special thanks to Michael and Andy for supporting our efforts to capture and share their dad's story. Both proudly bear PANTHER 27 tattoos on their arms in honor of their dad.

Chief Woody with a UH-1, likely a training bird for him. Note Woody's epic 'stache.

Also, check out It Was My Turn by Gerald Baron, a passionate author I met at SOAR last year. I connected him with the January 29 transcript so he could include it in his book, which tells the story of Terry Crump, PANTHER 38, who also flew that mission and many others with the Pink Panthers. It was an honor to get to see Terry and Woody together at SOAR last fall. Woody also highly recommended reading William Reeder, Jr.'s Through The Valley documenting his time as a Pink Panther and POW.

When asked if there was a way our community could support his family, Michael told me The Ronald McDonald House in Dallas Texas and St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital were both near and dear causes to Woody's heart, so please consider learning about and/or supporting both.

Expect the release of this podcast on Saturday at 17:00 GMT (12:00 PM US Central). Also expect a harrowing podcast with Lyn St. Laurent of RT Colorado of the same format in the hopefully not-too-distant future. A few weeks after meeting Woody, Lyn also graciously had us out to his house to record an interview and podcast - his first time hearing the tape.

Thank you for everything, Woody. You will be remembered.
Rest in peace, Woody, Lurch, and all the other warriors who have passed on to the great recon club (or in the Pink Panthers' case, the Stick Itt Inn) in the sky.

Airborne,
~Sam