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Herbert L. Wood, 93
Engineer was part of Apollo 11 support team
Herbert L.Wood, 93, of Truro, died peacefully at the Pleasant Bay Nursing Facility, Brewster, on June 18.
Mr. Wood was born on June 8, 1918, in South Acton, Maine, to Horace Wood and Edith Boothby Wood. He was the eldest of four boys. When his father died suddenly, young Herbert quit school and went to work at a shoe factory. He then took a job with the Cushman Bakery Company where he met his wife to be, Frances Veara. They were married on July 11, 1942, in Lynn.
He entered the Army in August of 1942. He was a radio operator and mechanic. He operated and maintained the airborne transmitting and recovery equipment in aircraft, making over 48 foreign ferrying missions. He was honorably discharged in November of 1945. In Truro, he worked as a carpenter while taking engineering correspondence courses. In 1955, he went to work for Page Communications where he assisted in installing the prototype Tropo-scatter communication system that ran between Truro and the Texas Tower #2.
In 1960, he went to work for the Bendix Aviation Corporation. He was a command engineer assigned to the command control and air-to-ground section of NASA Mercury-Bermuda project. A highlight of his career occurred when he served as a member of the Network Support Team for Apollo 11’s landing of a man on the moon on July 20, 1969. He retired from Bendix in 1970.
At his home in Truro, Mr. Wood loved to work in his flower and vegetable gardens. He played the mandolin, harmonica and the organ. He and his wife volunteered their time to their community by serving on a variety of committees.
He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Frances Wood; two brothers, Frederick Wood, of Peabody, and Edwin Wood, of Conway, N.H.; two daughters, Carolyn Souza, of Eastham, and Damaris Foster, of Antioch, Calif.; his son, Donald Wood, of Riverview, Fla.; seven grandchildren, Lon Morris and Alyssa Morris, of Truro, Eric Morris, of Oakland, Calif., Michael Wood, of Naples, Fla., Melanie Tonjum, of Kalispell, Mont., Leslie Hallstrom, of Dollar Bay, Mich., and Derek Foster, of Concord, Calif.; and nine great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his brother, Ernest Wood.
A memorial service will be held at a later date. Donations in Herbert’s memory may be made to the Truro Rescue Squad, Truro.
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Jun 26th, 2008