Travis M. Woods, 21
Marines, Corporal
Based: Camp Pendleton
3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: September 9, 2007
Helmand province (northern), Afghanistan
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Palo Cedro
High School: Foothill High (Palo Cedro)
Burial: Mount Shasta Memorial Park, Mount Shasta, Calif.
As a child, Travis Woods built his own hills. When winter brought rain to his neighborhood near Redding, at the northern tip of California's Central Valley, he would shape the sodden soil into little buttes and bluffs that would serve as jumps for his BMX bike. And when summer came and the sun baked the hills solid, he and his bike would soar.
"We always knew where to find him because he and his friend would be building jumps," recalled his mother, Stacey. "I always knew they weren't getting in any trouble because all they wanted to do was jump."
That sense of adventure and physical courage would later become assets on the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan, where Woods served with valor as a Marine.
Stacey Woods said her son was ready to get out of the military, and was talking to her about careers that would offer a decent living and plenty of time for sports. "I think he was very proud of what he did, and he never so much as regretted it, but he knew he wasn't going to stay in," she said.
Since he showed an aptitude for first aid in the Marines, she urged him to consider a medical career. In the meantime, he had a few more months of Marine duty, and knew how he wanted to spend it. "He was going to get back to Pendleton," his mother said, "and probably surf, surf, surf, surf."
Read the entire article about Marine Corporal Travis M. Woods here and read more here and find more pictures here.
Marine Corporal Travis M. Woods previously remembered here at Boom3 on Thursday, September 9, 2010.
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