Remember...
Woodford Wilson Sutherland
1916-1951
"Eventually the Korean War will be understood as one of the most destructive and one of the most important wars of the twentieth century."
Bruce Cumings
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Remember...Woodford Wilson Sutherland
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Woodford Wilson Sutherland was born November 16, 1916, at St. Albans, Kanawha County, West Virginia, to parents Gerald Waverly Sutherland and Effie Lena Wood Sutherland. The oldest of four siblings, according to the 1930 Federal Census, Woodrow's family included his brother, Maxwell Sutherland, and his sisters, Geraldine and Josephine Sutherland. Woodford never married, according to the 1950 census, which found him residing in his parents' home, although in 1940, he was living with his grandparents in St. Albans. That census documents that he had attended four years of college; the application for inclusion on the Veterans Memorial indicates this would have been Marshall College [now University]. When he registered for the draft prior to World War II (October 16, 1940), he stated that he was employed by the Carbide and Carbon Chemical Corporation in South Charleston.
Woodford, known as "Jock," did not serve in the U.S. Army. Instead, on February 19, 1942, he joined the U.S. Navy (Reserve), where he became a decorated Naval Air Force pilot. Deployed to the Pacific, he flew 70 combat missions and three times received the Distinguished Flying Cross. According to Syd Edwards, a historian who has spent years documenting the C-47 crash near the Charleston [Kanawha] Airport in 1951, Sutherland flew Consolidated PB4Y-1 Privateers with U.S. Navy squadron VPB-104, known as "The Buccaneers," and received the Purple Heart for injuries incurred in January 1945, when his aircraft lost an engine on takeoff, causing it to crash in Tacloban Bay. The crash claimed the lives of five of the aircraft's eleven crew members, and four others (including Sutherland) were seriously injured. It's unclear where he spent the years between World War II (he was discharged on December 19, 1945) and the Korean War, but presumably he returned to his work as a chemist at Carbide.
As was the case with many of his comrades-in-arms from World War II, he found himself facing the possibility of conflict again with the approach of the Korean War. Drawing on his experience as a pilot, this time he joined the West Virginia Air National Guard. He became the Operations Officer of the 167th Fighter Bomber Squadron, 123rd Fighter Bomber Group, stationed at Godman Air Force Base in Kentucky. On April 5, 1951, he was flying a training mission out of Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Upon landing, his plane was involved in a head-on collision with another plane, resulting in Woodford's death. The accident report states:
On the morning of 5 April 1951, at approximately 1145 hours CST, Captain James L. Mehne, flying F-51 #44-73669, returned from a gunnery mission to Auxiliary Field #2, landing on runway 18, taxied to the end of the runway, turned off and cleared his guns. In the meantime, F-51 #44-73548, flown by Major Sutherland, returned from a gunnery mission, landed on runway 18, without a radio receiver and asked for permission to turn off at the first intersection. This was acknowledged by the tower with a green light. After turning off, witnesses state that #548 requested permission to taxi down to the NS taxi strip to clear his guns, but the tower says they received no such transmission. After the taxi strip was cleared by #522, #548 turned to the right and proceeded to taxi south on the NS taxi strip. This is against Standing Operation Orders at this base. In the meantime, aircraft #669 had completed clearing the guns, started the engine and proceeded to taxi North on the NS strip. Approximately 1100 feet from the area where it is SOP to clear the guns, there is a slight rise in the taxi strip and in order to see an aircraft from either end, he must be taxiing slowly and S-ing sufficiently to look closely for other aircraft, and due to terrain, VHF Communication blind spot exists. At approximately 900 feet from the area where the guns were cleared the two aircraft, #548 and #669, collided head-on, causing major damage to both aircraft and fatal injuries to the pilot of #548. There are no witnesses other than Captain Mehne as to the amount of S-ing that was being done and the speed at which both aircraft were taxiing. (Report of AF Aircraft Accident, West Virginia State Archives.)
Major Sutherland was laid to rest at a family cemetery (Sutherland Cemetery) in Calvary [St. Albans], West Virginia. A decorated World War II Naval Air Force veteran, Sutherland was awarded the National Defense Service Medal. His military headstone references his service as a member of the 167th Air Force Fighter Bomber Squadron, and it appears that this naval airman had seamlessly immersed himself in the West Virginia fighter squadron of the Air National Guard. The following passage briefly summarizes the unit's service from World War II through Korea:
The 167th Airlift Wing initially constituted as the 369th Fighter Squadron on 20 December 1942 and formally activated on 15 January 1943 and assigned to the 359th Fighter Group from 15 January 1943 to 10 November 1945. Assignments included: Westover Field, Massachusetts on 15 January 1943, Grenier Field, New Hampshire on 6 April 1943, Republic Field, New York on 26 May 1943, Westover Field, MA on 24 August 1943 until 2 October 1943, East Wretham, England on 18 October 1943 until 4 November 1945 and Camp Kilmer, New Jersey on 9-10 November 1945. The aircraft flown during World War II was the P-47 Thunderbolt (1943-1944) and the P-51 Mustang (1944-1945). The 369th took part in the Air Offensive, Europe; Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe Air Combat, EAME Theater. The squadron deactivated on 10 November 1945, redesignated the 167th Fighter Squadron and allotted to the Air National Guard (ANG) on 24 May 1946.The Air National Guard designated the State of West Virginia as the resident state for the fighter squadron. On 24 May 1946, Charleston's Kanawha Airport became the home base for the renamed 167th Fighter Squadron. The unit reactivated on 5 January 1947 and federally recognized effective 7 March 1947. The assigned strength: 19 officers and 35 airmen. Within six months, the unit attained full manning strength. Early aircraft included the T-6 Trainer, the P-47 Thunderbolt and the P-51 Mustang. The name, mission, size and even the site changed over the next 40 years, but the numbers "167" have remained constant with the West Virginia Air National Guard.
On 10 October 1950, the unit and all personnel were sworn in for 21 months of active duty. Most personnel and all aircraft became part of the 123rd Fighter Bomber Wing, located at Godman AFB, Kentucky. Some members transferred to Manston Air Field near London, England, flying F-84 Thunderjet aircraft. Other seasoned (experienced) pilots transferred to Korea.
Released from active duty on 9 July 1952, the 167th Fighter Interceptor Squadron returned to Charleston, West Virginia and the P-51 Mustang aircraft. The unit name changed to the 167th Fighter Bomber Squadron on 1 December 1952. (167th Airlift Wing, "History of the 167th Airlift Wing," accessed 17 May 2024, https://www.167aw.ang.af.mil/About-Us/#:~:text=History%20of%20the%20167th&text=The%20369th%20took%20part%20in,ANG)%20on%2024%20May%201946).
| Major Sutherland's death turned into a double tragedy. On April 8, 1951, two planeloads of his colleagues were headed to Charleston from Godman Air Force base in Kentucky to attend his funeral. As the first approached the Charleston airport, it crashed, killing 19 members aboard and injuring two, both of whom died later. The second plane returned to Godman. The crash decimated the troops who were being trained to be deployed to Korea. |  |
Article prepared by Patricia Richards McClure, who gratefully acknowledges the generous input of Syd Edwards, who has spent many years researching the C-47 crash
May 2024
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.