Funeral services for Lt. Col. Ernest M. Wood Jr. (Retired) were held Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009, at Williams Chapel in Milledgeville with Dr. Jerry Pickard officiating. Burial at Baldwin Memorial Gardens with full military honors immediately followed the service.

Lt. Col. Wood died Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009. He was preceded in death by his parents, E. Maynard Wood Sr. and Maude Shepard Wood of Johnson County; and his father and mother-in-law, Steve Renfroe and Blanche Garner Renfroe of Milledgeville.

Lt. Col. Wood was born Dec. 3, 1934, in Washington County. In 1950, he enrolled at his father’s Alma Mater, Georgia Military College. Shortly after graduation, he married Leah Renfroe.

In October 1954 he enlisted in the U.S. Army. After completing Infantry Basic and Advanced Training at Fort Jackson, S.C., in March 1955, he qualified for Field Artillery Officer Candidate School at Fort Sill, Okla., which he completed exactly one year after his enlistment.

He then qualified for U.S. Army Flight Training in San Marcus, Texas, and later Fort Rucker, Ala. He served his first aviation tour at Fort Benning and then completed Army Primary Helicopter Training and was assigned to the 24th Infantry Division, U.S. Army, in Europe.

While there, he gained distinction as an Army Aviator for performing flight maneuvers near the East German and Czechoslovakian border. Returning to the United States, he was assigned to Fort Campbell, Ky., and Fort Bragg, N.C., for additional preparation before beginning his first combat tour in the Republic of Vietnam in 1962.

Having attained the rank of captain by this time, he was one of the first Army Aviators to fly helicopter gunships in Vietnam. In 1963 he returned to the States and attended Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kan. He was ordered back to Fort Rucker, Ala., in 1964, and then in 1965 he was assigned to the Vice-Presidential Flight Detachment in Minneapolis, Minn.

In 1967, Maj. Wood began his second combat tour in Vietnam where he flew Chinooks in support of the American Division at Chu Lai. In 1969 he was assigned to Training Command at Fort Monroe, Va. In 1972 he returned to Fort Rucker and was given a major headquarters assignment: to develop a new Initial Entry Flight Training Program to prepare for future aviation combat strategies and capabilities — a task he believed to be the zenith of his military career.

On Oct. 1, 1975, Lt. Col. Ernest M. Wood Jr. retired from the U.S. Army having faithfully served his country for 21 years.

He was a highly decorated officer, having earned the Legion of Merit (with oak-leaf cluster), the Distinguished Flying Cross (with oak-leaf cluster), the Bronze Star, the Air Medal (with numerous oak-leaf clusters), an Army Commendation Medal, a Purple Heart for combat injuries sustained in Vietnam and numerous service and campaign ribbons. He was also awarded the Army Aviator Badge, the Senior Army Aviator Badge and the Master Army Aviator Badge.

During his military career he took every opportunity to further his education and graduated with honors from The University of Nebraska and received his master’s degree in psychology and counseling from Troy State University in Alabama.

Following his retirement from the military, he returned to Middle Georgia and accepted a position as director of Veterans Affairs at Georgia Military College. In 1980 he obtained his real estate license and broker’s license and was the owner of Wood Realty.

He worked in real estate sales and development until his health prevented him from continuing. He spent the remainder of his life devoting his time to his family, his church and various community activities, always driven by an intellectual curiosity that covered a broad range of subjects.

He was an active member of Northside Baptist Church, having served on various committees, and was the chairman of the Family Service Ministry for many years.

In his words:

“I want it known that I lived as a Christian; as an American; as an American soldier; and as a loving husband and father and grandfather and great-grandfather. I depart this earth indebted to my God, my country, my wife, my two daughters and my five granddaughters. I wish it to be known that I gave, but that they gave more.”

Lt. Col. Wood is survived by his beloved wife, Leah; daughters, Maleah Simpson (Ken), and Juli Waddell (David); granddaughters, Tassi Schroll (Derek), Natalie Simpson, Michelle Simpson, Brooke Heindel, and Laura Beth Simpson; great-granddaughters, Emma Kate Schroll and Anna Claire Schroll; sister-in-law, Judy Fennell (Hobert); nephew, Derrick Fennell (Regina); and niece, Lark Nipper.