Waverly Bernard Woodson Jr. was born on August 3, 1922 at 1235 North 58th Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where his father worked as a mail carrier.

[1][2] After graduating from Overbrook High School, he began studying at Lincoln University in Oxford, Pennsylvania,[3] where he was a pre-med student.

[5][6] After scoring highly on an aptitude test, he joined the Anti-Aircraft Artillery Officer Candidate School, where he was one of only two African Americans.

Before completing the course, Woodson was informed that he would not be able to be billeted in the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps due to his race.

[22] During the 30 hours, he carried out procedures including setting limbs, removing bullets, bandaging wounds, applying sulfa powder, dispensing plasma, and amputating a foot.

[12][30] United States Department of War special assistant to the director Philleo Nash proposed that President Franklin D. Roosevelt should give Woodson an award personally.

"[37] Shortly after the Battle of Normandy, the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion was redeployed to the United States, where it underwent further training at Camp Stewart in Georgia.

[40] Woodson initially hoped to study medicine, but was unable to find a medical school that would admit him as an African American.

[4][26] After leaving the Army,[40] Woodson went on to work in the Bacteriology Department of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

[47][43] His papers were donated to the Langston Hughes Memorial Library Special Collections at his alma mater, Lincoln University.

[44] In June 2021, Commanding General of the First United States Army Thomas S. James Jr. wrote in favor of Woodson receiving the Medal of Honor.

[41] In August 2020, Woodson was approved for the Combat Medical Badge; in October 2023, he was posthumously awarded the Combat Medical Badge (and formally presented with his Bronze Star Medal from 1945) in a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery attended by his widow, family, and friends along with military personnel, including the retired United States Army lieutenant generals Stephen Twitty and Thomas S. James Jr..[35][36][49] In June 2024, Senator Van Hollen announced that Woodson would posthumously be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the United States Army's second highest military decoration for soldiers who display extraordinary heroism in combat.