Earl W. Norwood, Jr.

Asheville Earl W. Norwood, Jr., a veteran of the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy with service in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, died Friday, August 14, 2015 at Elizabeth House in Hendersonville. He is survived by his sons Earl W. Norwood III and Robert Norwood, his brother William E. Norwood (wife LaDonna) of Asheville, and his sister Mary Lou Booth (husband Bill) of Apex, N.C. Earl was born March 7, 1926 in Annapolis, Maryland to Earl W. Norwood, Sr. and Evelyn English Norwood. When World War II broke out, Earl convinced his father to give him written permission to enlist in the U.S. Navy at the age of 17. Earl was sent to Little Creek, Virginia, the site of the major operating base for amphibious forces in the Navys Atlantic Fleet, where he was trained to pilot an LCVP or Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel, commonly known as the Higgins boat. On June 6, 1944, Earl piloted a Higgins boat loaded with soldiers onto the shores of Omaha Beach during the D-Day invasion. He was 18 years old. He delivered three more boatloads under heavy fire and then following the invasion, spent three days retrieving bodies in the bay and returning them to the LCVPs mother ship. After the war, Earl enlisted in the U.S. Army where he served from June 1950 to July 1951 in Korea as a member of Smiths Task Force. He fought at the Battle of Taejon and provided intelligence on North Korean troop movement along the Yalu River. From 1965 to 1968, Earl served in Vietnam, fighting in the battles of An Loc, Loc Ninh, Parrots Beak, Saigon Delta, and Suoi Tre. In between these battles he led patrols throughout the countryside, but particularly remembered patrols in and around the Michelin Rubber Plantation where an extensive tunnel network thwarted enemy capture. Following his retirement after Vietnam, Earl decided to earn a college degree. Earls transformation from career soldier to college student was startling to many who had known him in his early years, when he failed several grades at school and seemed to have no talent for schoolwork. Testing in college revealed extensive learning disabilities. Despite the handicap, he earned a masters degree in history and embarked on a teaching career. For many years, he taught American history to non-commissioned officers in the army. He also taught at Carteret Community College in Morehead City, N.C., the University of South Carolina annex in Beaufort, S.C., and the Technical College of the Low Country. In 2009 Earl attended a D-Day service in France to commemorate the sailors who had participated in D-Day and died on the beaches. Earl was presented with the Legion of Honor for Valor in Normandy and given the rank of Chevalier. His trip to France and his return to Omaha Beach after 54 years were two of the most thrilling events of his life. While Earl was proud of his many years of military service, his teaching career, and his Legion of Honor medal, he was perhaps most proud of his memoir, A Warriors Life, which he wrote in 2014. The memoir won first prize in the anthology series, Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors, a project of the Missouri Humanities Council. In his memoir Earl wrote: Ive seen things that no man should ever see. Ive survived things that are hard to even imagine. But, here I am today . . . surrounded by my memories, aware as few men are, that life can indeed be very fragile. Finally, I am at peace. Earl fought in three wars, was divorced twice, widowed three times, and struggled after Vietnam with what is now known as PTSD. Having suffered lung cancer, COPD, colon cancer, two broken hips, and minor infirmities in old age, Earl entered Elizabeth House knowing he wasnt going to win his last battle. Now he is truly at peace. The family would like to thank the staff at Elizabeth House and Four Seasons Hospice for their compassionate care. Earl will be laid to rest with full military honors including a 21-gun salute at the Western Carolina State Veterans Cemetery in Black Mountain on Tuesday, August 18, 2015 at 10 a.m. Funeral services will be handled by Anders-Rice Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675 or to the DAV Chapter at Charles George V.A. Medical Center, 1100 Tunnel Road, Asheville, NC 28805.