He served in the United States Army during World War II, from 1944 to 1946.

[1] He received an Associate of Arts from George Washington University in 1949, and a Juris Doctor from the George Washington University Law School in 1952,[1][2] where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and the Delta Theta Phi legal fraternity.

[3] He then served as a law clerk for the United States Court of Claims from 1952 to 1954, before entering private practice in Washington, D.C., from 1954 to 1969.

[1] From 1959 to 1986, he was also a United States Army Reserve member of the JAG Corps, achieving the rank of colonel.

[1] In 1969, Wood became a trial judge of the United States Court of Claims.