Flags to fly at half-staff in honor of fallen soldier

By Ashley Yarchin

KSDK -- Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has ordered that the U.S. and Missouri flags on all state buildings in Franklin County be flown at half-staff from Aug. 29 to Sept. 4 to honor a fallen soldier.

Sgt. 1st Class William Brian Woods Jr., Catawissa. was a soldier in the United States Army who died on Aug. 16 while serving his country in Ghazni, Afghanistan.

In addition, Gov. Nixon has ordered that the U.S. and Missouri flags at state buildings in all 114 counties and the city of St. Louis be flown at half-staff for one full day on Saturday, Aug. 29, the day of Sgt. 1st Class Woods' funeral.

Sgt. 1st Class Woods was assigned to B Company, 2nd Battalion, Special Forces Group (Airborne), stationed out of Glen Arm, Md.

Woods was highly decorated, and was the recipient of the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and a many other honors.

Before his deployment to Afghanistan in July, the sergeant met with his uncle.

"As a matter of fact, he gave me his unit patch and he said I want you to put that on your vest and I said, 'I won't do that, Brian, because unfortunately my vest has deceased warriors on it and I'm not gonna put you on there.' And he said, 'Okay.' Well, it's on there now and very proudly on there and I think he would be proud its on there as well," Robert Woods said.

The funeral will be in the gymnasium of Northwest High School, where Woods attended, Saturday at 11 a.m.