William Maxwell Wood (May 27, 1809 – March 1, 1880) was an officer and surgeon in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
in the middle 19th century.
He became the First Surgeon General of the U.S. Navy in 1871, with the equivalent rank of
commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore''
* Air commodore, a ...
. He rose to president of the examining board in 1868 and chief of the U.S. Navy
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
The Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) is an agency of the United States Department of the Navy that manages health care activities for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. BUMED operates hospitals and other health care ...
in 1870 following his service in the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
as Fleet Surgeon of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron aboard the USS Minnesota and Medical Officer of the James River Flotilla, participating in several famous Naval battles, and establishing temporary hospitals as needed during the Civil War.
As BUMED Chief, Wood was instrumental in increasing the stature of the
naval surgeon
A naval surgeon, or less commonly ship's doctor, is the person responsible for the health of the ship's company aboard a warship. The term appears often in reference to Royal Navy's medical personnel during the Age of Sail.
Ancient uses
Speciali ...
, championing a bill eventually passed by
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
increasing the rank and compensation of physicians in the Navy, enabling the Navy to attract and recruit more qualified physicians. (The Appropriations Bill of 3 March 1871 created the titles of "Surgeon General of the Navy" and "Medical Director" and "established" a formal corps of Medical Officers. Ever since, the Navy Medical Corps has celebrated this day as its anniversary.) During Wood's tenure at the top of BUMED the Naval Hospital at Mare Island, California was completed and opened. Earlier in his career Wood was the personal consulting physician of President Zachary Taylor.
Wood is most remembered in U.S. Naval history for his daring journey through Mexico in 1846 at the onset of the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
, where he eluded detection and capture as a U.S. spy in enemy territory and successfully provided vital intelligence leading to the possession of California by the
Pacific Squadron
The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval s ...
, as well as providing intelligence information to the
Secretary of the Navy
The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense.
By law, the se ...
in
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
regarding Mexican fortifications and military operations.
"History of the Celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Taking Possession of California" Page 37, 1896
/ref>
Wood was an accomplished writer, and authored three books chronicling his voyages and missions with the Pacific and East India Squadron
The East India Squadron, or East Indies Squadron, was a squadron of American ships which existed in the nineteenth century, it focused on protecting American interests in the Far East while the Pacific Squadron concentrated on the western coast ...
s, and his ideas and recommendations on reforming the U.S. Navy, as well as many literary articles for notable publications of his day.
Biography
Early life and career
Born in Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, Wood graduated from the Medical School
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...
at the University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
, was appointed Assistant Surgeon on May 16, 1829, and, between 1830 and 1834, served with the West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
and Home Squadron
The Home Squadron was part of the United States Navy in the mid-19th century. Organized as early as 1838, ships were assigned to protect coastal commerce, aid ships in distress, suppress piracy and the Atlantic slave trade, make coastal surveys, ...
s, as well as with the Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
during the Seminole Wars
The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Geography of Florida, Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native Americans in the United States, Native American nation whi ...
.
For several years he conducted a medical practice in Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...
, where he and his family followed his mother and siblings in relocating from Baltimore after the completion of the National Road
The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the Federal Government of the United States, federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Pot ...
in 1834. He resumed sea duty as Passed Assistant Surgeon aboard the ship-of-the-line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colum ...
in 1836, sailing to St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, Russia, where Czar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the t ...
Nicholas
Nicholas is a male given name and a surname.
The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...
boarded and inspected, before the ''Independence'' sailed to the South Atlantic. Tragically, his wife Hannah died while he was serving on the ''Independence'' and he returned to Terre Haute to tend to his young daughters Hannah and Elizabeth and the family property in the middle of 1838.
During 1839 he served with the West Indies Squadron and the receiving ship
A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Hulk may be used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, an abandoned wreck or shell, or to refer to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipmen ...
in Baltimore, before being assigned to the Pacific Squadron in 1843. He became Fleet Surgeon with the Pacific Squadron
The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval s ...
in 1844 and, upon completion of his tour in 1846, was about to return to the United States when relations between that country and Mexico became decidedly strained. The commander of the Navy's Pacific Squadron, Commodore John D. Sloat
John Drake Sloat (July 26, 1781 – November 28, 1867) was a commodore in the United States Navy who, in 1846, claimed California for the United States.
Life
He was born at the family home of Sloat House in Sloatsburg, New York, of Dutch ancestr ...
, consequently entrusted certain dispatches to Wood to carry back to the United States with him. Wood volunteered to travel through Mexico and report upon conditions there. Accompanied by the American consul from Mazatlán
Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding ''municipio'', known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of ...
, Mexico, the former fleet surgeon commenced his journey across Mexico.
Mexican–American War
Arriving at Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
on May 10, Wood and his companion found the town "in a high state of agitation" owing to the reception there of the news of the battles between American and Mexican forces at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma
The Battle of Resaca de la Palma was one of the early engagements of the Mexican–American War, where the United States Army under General Zachary Taylor engaged the retreating forces of the Mexican ''Ejército del Norte'' ("Army of the North ...
, on the Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico.
The length of the Rio G ...
. The surgeon immediately wrote a dispatch to Sloat at Mazatlán, and it was delivered in five days – an exceptional occurrence in those days. His message that hostilities with Mexico had actually commenced was the first tidings of that nature that Sloat had received.
Wood meanwhile continued on his journey across Mexico and subsequently arrived at Mexico City to be "startled and shocked by hearing newsboys crying through the streets 'Grand victory over the North Americans.'" He later learned through a trusted friend of the Mexican minister of war that General Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...
's men had, in fact, annihilated the Mexican Army
The Mexican Army ( es, Ejército Mexicano) is the combined land and air branch and is the largest part of the Mexican Armed Forces; it is also known as the National Defense Army.
The Army is under the authority of the Secretariat of National De ...
's choice regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
. Surgeon Wood remained in Mexico City not less than a week and gathered more information which he sent off to Commodore Sloat, apprising him of the situation, via Guadalajara.
Wood continued his mission, as he had since the beginning of it, in civilian clothes—running the risk of being apprehended as a spy—and, while posing as an Englishman
The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history and culture. The English identity is of Anglo-Saxon origin, when they were known in ...
, inspected the defenses of the castle at Chapultepec
Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in Mexico City, is one of the largest city parks in Mexico, measuring in total just over 686 hectares (1,695 acres). Centered on a rock formation called Chapultep ...
. Continuing on to Veracruz, the surgeon carefully took notes on Mexico, its condition and resources. Ultimately, the physician reached a neutral man-of-war and was taken to the flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
of the American blockading squadron. Sailing on a vessel especially detached for the purpose, Wood carried the vital intelligence information to Washington, D.C.
Meanwhile, Commodore Sloat took action. As he later recorded in a letter to Wood, "The information you furnished me at Mazatlan from the City of Mexico, via Guadalajara, (at the risk of your life) was the only reliable information I received of that event, and which induced me to proceed immediately to California, and upon my own responsibility to take possession of that country, which I did on 7 July 1846."
Sloat considered the performance of Wood's journey through Mexico "as an extraordinary feat, requiring great courage, presence of mind, and address. How you escaped from the heart of an enemy's country ... has always been a wonder to me."
1848–1861
Following the Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
, Wood served in the receiving ship
A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Hulk may be used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, an abandoned wreck or shell, or to refer to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipmen ...
at Baltimore and later went to the steamer , the first US Navy iron-hulled warship, operating on the Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
, and homeported in Erie, Pennsylvania. During this period, he sold his property in Terre Haute, and married a niece of President Zachary Taylor, Rose Mary Carson, daughter of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
leader Thomas Carson, and made his home with his family in Erie Pennsylvania until the end of the Civil War. Dr. Wood and Rose had 6 sons and a daughter, including William Maxwell Jr, Charles Erskine Scott, Thomas Carson, Peter Bryson, James McIntosh, David Abbott, and Roberta Morgan. While in Erie, Wood treated President Zachary Taylor during a visit to Erie, and became Taylor's personal consulting physician. From 1853 to 1855 Wood served at the Naval Hospital at Sackett's Harbor, New York
Sackets Harbor (earlier spelled Sacketts Harbor) is a village in Jefferson County, New York, United States, on Lake Ontario. The population was 1,450 at the 2010 census. The village was named after land developer and owner Augustus Sackett, who ...
. He again served as Fleet Surgeon—this time with the East India Squadron
The East India Squadron, or East Indies Squadron, was a squadron of American ships which existed in the nineteenth century, it focused on protecting American interests in the Far East while the Pacific Squadron concentrated on the western coast ...
—from 1856 to 1858, serving under Commodore James Armstrong aboard the , and took part in the negotiations with the King of Siam
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 mi ...
in opening that country to American trade, in establishing the first American consulate to Japan, and in Commander Andrew H. Foote
Andrew Hull Foote (September 12, 1806 – June 26, 1863) was an American naval officer who was noted for his service in the American Civil War and also for his contributions to several naval reforms in the years prior to the war. When the war cam ...
's attack upon the Chinese Barrier Forts—of "enormous strength ... built of large blocks of granite ... heavily armed."—at Canton, China
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kong ...
, in response to Chinese attacks upon American shipping during the Second Opium War
The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Emp ...
.
American Civil War
Wood subsequently served a second tour in ''Michigan'' before he became Fleet Surgeon for the Western Gulf Blockading Squadron
The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading.
The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlantic ...
aboard the , and the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron
The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading.
The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlantic ...
during the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. While serving aboard the flagship , Wood participated in the Battle of Hampton Roads
The Battle of Hampton Roads, also referred to as the Battle of the ''Monitor'' and ''Virginia'' (rebuilt and renamed from the USS ''Merrimack'') or the Battle of Ironclads, was a naval battle during the American Civil War.
It was fought over t ...
, and witnessed the historic battle of the ironclad
An ironclad is a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by Wrought iron, iron or steel iron armor, armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships ...
s USS ''Monitor'' and CSS ''Virginia'' (the former ) in Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
; and later took part in the assault and capture of Sewall's Point, and the capture of the Hatterras Forts. Wood established a Naval Hospital at Sewell's Point, and later served as medical inspector of the James River Flotilla
The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading.
The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlantic ...
, before being transferred back to the ''Michigan'' before the end of the U.S. Civil War.
Command of Bureau of Medicine and Surgery – First Surgeon General of US Navy
After the Civil War, Dr. Wood purchased a farm in Owings Mills, Maryland, named Rosewood Glen, where he and his family would live during the pinnacle of his Naval career, and through retirement until his death in 1880.
After his last duty on the USS ''Michigan'' in Erie, Wood served on various Naval medical examining boards in Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and New York and at Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
and Annapolis
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
in 1866 and 1867 and was President of the Naval Examining Board
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
in 1868.
He became Chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
The Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) is an agency of the United States Department of the Navy that manages health care activities for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. BUMED operates hospitals and other health care ...
in 1870. During his tenure in that role, the Naval Hospital at Mare Island, California was completed and opened. He was appointed the first Surgeon General of the United States Navy
The surgeon general of the Navy (SGN) is the most senior commissioned officer of the Medical Corps of the United States Navy and is the principal advisor to the United States Secretary of the Navy, Chief of Naval Operations and director of the ...
and Medical Director on March 3, 1871, with equivalent rank of Commodore, concurrent with Congressional Passage of The Appropriations Bill of 3 March 1871, which created the Navy Medical Corps of Officers.
Wood was retired for age later in 1871 but continued to serve the Navy in a civilian capacity as medical inspector – general hospitals and fleets until his final retirement in 1873.
Writings
Wood was a writer of books and essays, focusing on his travels, life at sea in the US Navy, various Naval battles and Naval missions, and his political beliefs and ideas for improving the US Navy. His books include ''Wandering Sketches of People and Things in South America, Polynesia, California, and Other Places Visited During a Cruise Aboard the U.S. Ships Levant, Portsmouth, and Savannah'', ''A Shoulder to the Wheel of Progress'', and ''Fankwei: or The San Jacinto in the Seas of India, China, and Japan''.
Retirement
After retirement Wood managed his farm, Rosewood Glen, in Owings Mills, Maryland, with his wife Rose and his children, Peter Bryson, Thomas Carson, James McIntosh, David Abbott, and Roberta Morgan. He became president of the Garrison Woods Farmers Association, and was a member of St. Thomas Episcopal Church. His son William Maxwell Jr attended the US Naval Academy and had a successful career as a naval officer. His son Charles Erskine Scott (CES) attended the US Military Academy at West Point whereupon graduation he was assigned to the Northwest US. He is noted for being General Howard's adjutant during the Nez Perce War and transcribed Nez Perce Chief Joseph's surrender speech, eventually becoming a close friend of Chief Joseph, ultimately leaving the military life for a successful legal career in Portland OR, before becoming a noted author and civil libertarian in Portland, Oregon and Los Gatos, California.
Death
Wood died at his farm, Rosewood Glen, in Owings Mills, Maryland
Owings Mills is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. Per the 2020 census, the population was 35,674. Owings Mills is home to the northern terminus o ...
, March 1, 1880. He is buried at the family plot in the St. Thomas Church Cemetery, along with his wife Rose Carson Wood, a daughter Hannah, and his son Peter Bryson. His grave marker includes the inscription "He served his country well"
Honors
Dr. Wood was commended by Commodore Sloat, Secretary Bankcroft, and Senator Mallory, Chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs in the Senate of the United States for his successful mission behind enemy lines in Mexico in 1846 and his communication to Commodore Sloat which enabled the US Navy to acquire California at the onset of the War with Mexico. He was posthumously honored in 1901 by The Society of California Pioneers, with his inclusion in the volume ''Portraits of Members of the Society of California Pioneers''.
Wood's name is inscribed in one of the base stones of The Sloat Monument erected at the Presidio in Monterey, California in commemoration of the US Navy's Pacific Fleet taking possession of California in 1846.
Four U.S. Navy ships, have been named for Wood; but only two of them were completed and commissioned. The first named for him was the , built in California and commissioned at Mare Island. She was in commission from 1919 to 1930.
During World War II, two ships were named ''William M. Wood'' in his honor but were cancelled before they were built. The first, the , was cancelled in March 1944, as was the second, the , in June 1944.
The , was built in Newark, New Jersey, and was commissioned at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. She was in commission from 1945 to 1976. After serving in the Pacific on post-war Western Pacific patrols, she was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet in 1949 as the Cold War escalated. She was converted to a radar picket destroyer (DDR-715) in 1953, and was converted and modernized in 1964 to an all purpose destroyer with advanced sonar and submarine warfare weaponry. She patrolled the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Mediterranean during the Cold War years, alternating operations between the Second Fleet homeported in Newport, Rhode Island, and Norfolk, Virginia, making 18 deployments with the Sixth Fleet including an extended deployment from 1972 to 1975 where she was homeported near Athens, Greece.
Her missions included aiding earthquake victims in Volos Greece in 1955; supporting Eastern Mediterranean US coastal operations during the 1956 War between Israel and Egypt, and during the Lebanese crisis in 1958; participation in the Cuban Quarantine-Blockade in 1962; the pursuit of the hijacked Venezuelan freighter SS ''Anzoategui'' in 1963; coastal operations off the Dominican Republic and evacuation of American citizens during that county's revolution in 1965; participation in the search for the USS ''Scorpion'' in 1968; shadowing the Soviet Mediterranean Fleet during 1970–71, including intelligence gathering on the new Moskva class Soviet Helo-Guided Missile Cruiser-Carriers, and special operations in the Black Sea; coastal support operations off Crete during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974; additional Black Sea operations during her extended 1972–75 deployment; and continuous escort and defense operations with US carrier task forces in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Mediterranean.
By coincidence, the combined 42 years of service of the two completed destroyers which bore his name coincides approximately with Dr. Wood's 42-year U.S. Navy career.
USS ''William M Wood'' Association
The USS ''William M Wood'' Association was formed in 1994 and currently has an active living shipmate directory of over 1,600 former crew of USS ''William M. Wood'' (DD-715). Eighteen annual reunions have been held by the association, and many of the active living shipmates regularly attend. The 19th reunion was to be held in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, October 14–18, 2015. The association has initiated a project named "Wood III" with the goal of requesting the U.S. Navy to continue the legacy of Dr. Wood and the U.S. Navy ship lineage for ships named in his honor, by naming another new Navy destroyer after Dr. Wood, thus enabling the shipmates of the ''William M. Wood'', including those who served during World War II, the Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, and the Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, to continue to honor Dr. Wood and to pass the baton during their lifetimes to the next generation of ''Wood'' sailors. The Wood Association's website is www.dd715.org
See also
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, William
1809 births
1880 deaths
Union Navy surgeons
Writers from Baltimore
People from Owings Mills, Maryland
Surgeons General of the United States Navy
University of Maryland School of Medicine alumni