Honors and Recognition

In 1994, he was invited to Normandy for the 50th anniversary of D-Day to receive France’s highest honor, the French Legion of Honor.

In 2015, Lincoln University paid tribute to Woodson’s extraordinary sacrifices by accepting photos, letters, newspaper articles and medals that give testament to what Woodson accomplished. Woodson's legacy is a permanent part of Lincoln's research materials. Woodson had been a student at Lincoln when he enlisted in the Army in 1942, and he returned after his service to graduate with a degree in biology in 1950. He then re-enlisted and served in the Korean Conflict.

On April 14, 2022, he was recognized by having a military medical clinic named in his honor. The Woodson Health Clinic at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, provides primary care services to nearly 2,000 soldiers, retirees, and family members.

Woodson died in 2005. On Oct. 11, 2023, Woodson’s widow, Joann, and son, Stephen, were presented with his WWII-era Bronze Star and Combat Medic Badge during a graveside ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, where Woodson is buried.

Woodson "truly was a hero on Omaha Beach," said U.S. Army Capt. Kevin Braafladt, during the 2023 Arlington National Cemetery ceremony for Woodson’s family.

Distinguished Service Cross to be Awarded

Earlier this week, it was announced that Woodson, who served in the only African American unit deployed on D-Day, will be posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest U.S. military honor, and the highest military honor the U.S. Army can bestow.

“We are deeply proud to count Waverly Woodson as one of the heroes and warriors who make up our long and proud First Army lineage,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William A. Ryan III, acting commanding general of First Army, in a statement. “We always say we stand on the shoulders of giants—Mr. Woodson is certainly one of them.”  

And on this 80th Anniversary of D-Day, a team of First Army leaders carried a WWII-era Distinguished Service Cross to Omaha Beach, Normandy. On June 6, they will lay the medal in the sands of Omaha Beach, at the spot where Woodson would have landed and set up his aid station. The medal will be then presented to the Woodson family during an award ceremony later this summer.

Ryan said, “We want to be able to tell Mrs. Woodson that the medal she is receiving on behalf of her beloved husband has actually been to Normandy, has actually been to the very place he performed his truly remarkable actions.