[1] During an offensive in October 1918, he single-handedly neutralized three German machine gun emplacements while suffering under the effect of mustard gas, and was able to successfully lead his men safely back to the American lines without casualties.

[2] He received the Medal of Honor (which General Pershing presented on 9 February 1919), the French Légion d'honneur in the degree of Chevalier, the French Croix de guerre with bronze palm, the Montenegrin Order of Prince Danilo I in the degree of Knight and the Italian Croce al Merito di Guerra among other awards.

[3] So legendary was Woodfill's renown, that almost 11 years after the war ended, a Polish Army delegation presented him two medals.

The presentation occurred during the 11th Annual National Convention of the American Legion held in Louisville, Kentucky from 30 September - 3 October 1929.

[4][5] After returning home at the end of the war, Woodfill took a number of different jobs before starting a career as an insurance salesman.

At the outbreak of World War II, he was commissioned as a major and spent two years training recruits before resigning from the army after the death of his wife in 1943.

He received a basic education in local schools and enlisted in the 11th Infantry of the United States Army on March 8, 1901.

Due to the demand for experienced officers, Woodfill was granted a temporary commission as a second lieutenant on July 11, 1917.

As they moved forward, machine gun fire broke out from German held positions targeting Woodfill and his men.

Woodfill saw no more action for the remainder of the war and remained in medical care for several weeks while he received treatment for the effects of the poisonous gas.

Woodfill took a job in 1922 as a $6-a-day carpenter working on the Ohio River dam project at Silver Grove.

Ned Hastings, manager of the Keith Theater in Cincinnati, sent pictures of Woodfill working at the dam site to New York City.

A Kentucky Post account on April 16, 1924, said Woodfill had expressed an interest in Congress while attending a reception in Washington, D.C., three years before during the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

When Woodfill was proposed as a candidate for Congress, he was out of town doing promotional work for American Legion posts in Massachusetts.

She added, though, "My husband may not have the education of a lawyer, scholar or the like, but if reputation, honesty, service and truth were the only requisite, he is amply qualified to fill the high position to which his friends would elect him."

Upon his return to northern Kentucky, Woodfill quickly put an end to candidate speculation, saying he wanted no part of elected office.

A later account said Woodfill had purchased about 60 acres (240,000 m2) of farm land between Silver Grove and Flagg Springs in rural Campbell County in 1925, with the vision of planting apple and peach trees.

To keep from losing the farm, the 46-year-old Woodfill took a job as a watchman at the Newport Rolling Mill on July 15, 1929—working daily 2–11 p.m. Woodfill was still working as a guard at the Andrews Steel plant in Newport and living at his home in Fort Thomas when the U.S. entered World War II, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

In May 1942, Woodfill and Alvin C. York—himself a highly decorated World War I veteran from Tennessee—were commissioned Army majors.

Woodfill told a Kentucky Times-Star reporter at the time he was not aware the Army was going to give him the commission, which he termed a pleasant surprise.

Woodfill was later featured in an Army publicity picture, which showed him firing a rifle at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Despite his Indiana roots, a Kentucky Post editorial on August 15, 1951, called Woodfill "one of the greatest soldiers produced by the Bluegrass state."

But through the efforts of Indiana Congressman Earl Wilson, Woodfill's body was removed and buried at Arlington National Cemetery in October 1955.

Citation: While he was leading his company against the enemy, First Lieutenant Woodfill's line came under heavy machinegun fire, which threatened to hold up the advance.

Inspired by the exceptional courage displayed by this officer, his men pressed on to their objective under severe shell and machinegun fire.