Harvey Burch Woodward

Technical Sergeant, U. S. Army Air Force

Silver Star

GENERAL ORDERS:
Headquarters, Far East Air Forces, General Orders No. 672 (May 3, 1945)
CITATION:
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Staff Sergeant Harvey B. Woodward (ASN: 18058716), United States Army Air Forces, for gallantry in action while serving with the 3d Bombardment Group, FIFTH Air Force, in action off Chia-Tsu-Point, Kwantung Province, China, on 5 April 1945.
Staff Sergeant Woodward with other officers and enlisted men, were crew members of three A-20 aircraft which carried out an extreme range mission against a Japanese convoy consisting of a destroyer, four destroyer escorts, and a medium-sized freighter. As an experiment, belly tanks were attached to the wings of the A-20s to increase their range sufficiently so that they could accompany B-25 medium bombers. These A-20s proceeded to a scheduled rendezvous with a formation of B-25 aircraft and a fighter escort.
When the B-25s failed to make the rendezvous, the A-20 crews nevertheless proceeded to the target although they were fully aware of the extreme danger involved in attacking five warships and a freighter with only three airplanes. Deploying in the most strategic manner, they made a run over the vessels and in the face of heavy anti-aircraft fire succeeded in destroying the freighter and scoring a near miss on one of the destroyer escorts.
The outstanding courage displayed by these officers and enlisted men in participating in one of the longest missions ever flown by A-20 aircraft and the gallantry in carrying it out in the face of overwhelming enemy opposition reflect the highest traditions of the United States Army Air Forces.