Palmer soldier killed in Iraq

Son remembered for faith, determination

August 15, 2006

By JOEL DAVIDSON/Frontiersman

PALMER - Army Spc. Shane Woods loved Jesus, his family and his homeland. His parents remember a warrior-poet - fearless in battle, tender at heart.

Exactly one week ago, at age 23, Shane paid the ultimate sacrifice, when he and two other soldiers died in combat after an explosive detonated near their vehicle in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. All three soldiers were assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Division.

The brown-haired boy with the quick smile leaves behind his father and mother, Wayne and Mae Woods, and his little sister Stephanie, age 15.

On Monday, Wayne and Mae Woods sat quietly in St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer, trying to verbalize the 23 years they spent raising and loving their only son.

Less than a week before Shane died he called his mother on the phone. &#8220He called every week to 10 days,” she said. &#8220I told him, ‘I wish we could come give you a break so you could come home and rest.'”

But Shane was single-minded.

&#8220Even though I'm tired, I don't want to leave here until I get the job done,'” Mae recalled her son's words.

Wayne said his son was proud to wear a uniform and serve his country. &#8220He told me he was doing this to protect what we have here because he loved the life we have in Alaska,” he said. &#8220It was not disingenuous - he really meant it.”

From an early age, Shane was training to join the military. Before graduating from Palmer High School in 2003, he diligently trained in the Junior ROTC program, where he received the U.S. Army's Commanding General's recipient for being Alaska's outstanding Junior ROTC cadet.

Joel Heath met Shane as a fellow Junior ROTC cadet. The duo forged a friendship that continued after high school.

&#8220He was an all-American guy,” Heath said of his friend. &#8220He was an awesome friend, a brother in Christ and a great soldier.”

Heath last saw Shane during Christmas 2005, when the two met with some close friends.

&#8220We had one last bonfire together,” Heath said. &#8220He loved the outdoors and the mountains.”

Shane was a passionate outdoorsman, mountain climber, accomplished hunter, and tireless soldier, Mae said.

Grasping for words to capture the essence of her son, Mae remembered a moment six years ago.

&#8220My son would always bring me a cup of coffee in the morning,” she said. &#8220On the morning of 9/11, he came in and looked at me. I didn't know what was going on. He said, ‘Mom you need to come out into the living room.'

&#8220He looked at the towers and on his face was conviction that, once he finished high school, he was going to be a part of protecting our country. It was a look of sheer determination. I'll never forget it. It almost scared me.”

Wayne spoke of a son who he'd come to know as a man.

&#8220It almost doesn't sound right because we are his parents and we love him so much, but he really was an outstanding man of character,” Wayne said. &#8220A lot of times I felt like our roles as father and son were reversed. Shane taught me a lot of things about being a man. He was a great young man with an overcoming spirit.”

On Friday, at 11 a.m., a public memorial service will be held at the First Baptist Church in Palmer.

Contact Joel Davidson at

352-2266 or joel.davidson@ frontiersman.com.