Thanks to Van Hollen, an overlooked D-Day hero is finally honored

On Monday, U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen completed his nine-year effort to have the U.S. Army fully recognize the valor of African American D-Day hero Waverly B. Woodson, Jr. of Clarksburg. Then-Cpl. Woodson, a combat medic of the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, had been wounded by a mine before his landing craft set him down near Omaha Beach. Woodson’s fellow medics treated his wound. Then, while braving German artillery shelling and machine gun fire, Woodson and his fellow Black combat medics set up a field dressing station on that beach where they dressed wounds, administered transfusions and even amputated a foot.

After working 30 hours nonstop, Woodson sought further treatment for his own wound. Some soldiers spotted Woodson’s medic armband and motioned him over to tend to three unconscious English soldiers whom they had pulled from the bitter cold waters of the English Channel. Woodson successively resuscitated those three soldiers before getting his own wound addressed.

There are some contemporaneous records noting that Woodson should have been recommended for the Medal of Honor, but it wasn’t awarded. Instead, he received a Bronze Star, our nation’s fourth highest military honor. In the 1990s, the Clinton administration released a study about racism and how it had prevented deserving Black World War II-era soldiers from being awarded the Medal of Honor. The Army carefully reviewed its records and awarded seven African American men that medal. Woodson was short-listed, but wasn’t awarded the medal as almost all his military records were destroyed in a massive 1973 Veteran Affairs records fire.

In 2015, Woodson family members brought that lack of recognition to then-U.S. Rep. Van Hollen, who immediately began working on their cause. After nine years, Joanne Woodson and her son, Stephen, were presented with the Distinguished Service Cross, American’s second-highest medal for combat bravery. Thank you, Senator Van Hollen, for not letting this military oversight remain forgotten (“80 years after D-Day, the family of a Black World War II combat medic who later lived in Maryland receives his heroism medal,” Sept. 24).

— Paul L. Newman, Merion Station, Pennsylvania

Better for Maryland to have both Democrats and Republicans in Congress

Easily the most specious argument made by the increasingly desperate Angela Alsobrooks camp is the plea to vote against Larry Hogan because he could become “Number 51” in the United States Senate, thus shifting the majority from Democratic to Republican (“Poll: Angela Alsobrooks maintains lead with 7-point advantage over Larry Hogan,” Sept. 18).

This is a bogus scare tactic for several reasons. The voters in West Virginia and Montana are likely to tilt the balance no matter who represents Maryland. In two years, the majority could shift again. No one senator is “51.”

More significantly, whatever the final makeup of the Senate turns out to be, it should be clear to every Marylander we need representation from both parties in the world’s greatest deliberative body. The race for the White House is incredibly close as is the balance in both legislative chambers. Maryland needs representation in all camps.

Marylanders will be best served by an experienced leader known for his balanced approach to government policy with experience in international commerce. This means working across party lines on all levels of government. As Maryland’s governor, Hogan did that expertly for eight years and is highly regarded for his bipartisan relationships and community outreach.

Forget identity politics and numbers games. Vote for who will best serve Maryland.

— Jan Hardesty, Baltimore

The joy of filling out a ballot

My mail-in ballot arrived yesterday. I filled it out, signed and sealed it, but left it on the table for a few hours. Just to have a chance to glance at it happily. It is now in the mail (“Maryland’s voting season begins as mail-in ballots set to be sent out Friday,” Sept. 19).

Symbols of our democracy are, to me, life sustaining. In the U.S. Army and working and traveling overseas, the “Stars and Stripes” flying over an embassy or parade always made me pause briefly in enjoyment and renewal. And, yeah, with a lump in my throat.

As we enter fall and a perilous world and baseball playoffs and a national election and heaven knows what else, I pray Americans, no matter their leanings, can pause to savor symbols of our national identity and thereby celebrate the good and well-earned unity of “We the People.”

— Stan Heuisler, Baltimore