
OMAHA, Neb. — An Army medic from the area has died in Iraq in the line of duty, according to the man’s father.
Eric Paul Woods, 26, of Omaha, was killed by an explosion early Saturday morning in Iraq when he stopped to help a wounded soldier on the side of a road, said his father, Charles Woods of Urbandale, Iowa.
The elder Woods said his son had talked to his family only hours before he died, saying during the phone call that he had turned down an offer to be moved from the front lines of the war.
“He wanted to stay and help his fellow soldiers,” Charles Woods said.
The younger Woods was a member of G-Troop, 2nd Squadron, 3rd Army Calvary, based out of Fort Carson, Colo. The troop’s operating base is in Tal Afar, Iraq.
His father said he had moved to Omaha a few years ago and joined the Army in April last year. He was deployed to Iraq in March....