John C. Woods

Private First Class Paul M. Kluxdal

In many World War II death penalty cases, military psychiatrists, using intelligence tests, found that the accused were substantially below average.  Such was not the case with Private First Class Paul M. Kluxdal.

Paul Kluxdal

Born on July 17, 1907 in Merrill, Wisconsin, Kluxdal was a radio operator in his unit, an occupation that required some real skill.  From November 19, 1924 to July 14, 1927, he had served in the Wisconsin National Guard; he also attended the University of Wisconsin for two years.  Prior to enlisting, Kluxdal, who was white, was married and lived in Oak Park, Chicago, Illinois; he was a construction foreman, building commercial chimneys.  His wife worked for the War Department in Chicago; the couple had no children.  Then Private First Class Paul Kluxdal did two stupid things.  For several months, he made threatening statements against his first sergeant.  Then, on August 12, 1944, he shot and killed his first sergeant.  Despite his intelligence, that combination of events would get him hanged.

Master Sergeant John C Woods, US Army Hangman

Master Sergeant John C. Woods hanged Paul Kluxdal at the Seine Disciplinary Training Center on October 31, 1944, Halloween.  And just like some of the scary visions of that holiday, the hanging was botched and it appears that it took eighteen minutes for the condemned man to die.

The Fifth Field analyzes the entire Kluxdal case and its contradictory evidence, as well as the execution (which is also discussed in American Hangman) and you can come to your own conclusion as to what should have happened in this case.

British historian Paul Johnson kindly found this photograph of Paul Kluxdal and sent it to me, so now you can put a face to a name.

Private First Class Paul M. Kluxdal2022-07-30T09:38:40-05:00

American Hangman Published!!!

American Hangman

(September 23, 2019)  American Hangman: MSgt. John C. Woods: The United States Army’s Notorious Executioner in World War II and Nürnberg is published and you can start ordering now.  The book is fabulous; the price of $29.99 is an excellent buy considering that it has 108 black and white photos from the period, several of which are from the family with their kind permission, and where he resided that I guarantee you that you have never seen before.  The work is 256 pages, with endnotes and sources that dispel all the myths surrounding this fascinating character.  Most importantly, this is what I call a “one off” book.  Once you read this, you will know everything you would want to know about the “American Hangman.”  There are no other books about him.  There are a few magazine articles, first published in 1946 and continuing occasionally to today, but most of the information in them is extremely inaccurate which you’ll see.

But don’t worry; his actual life is more interesting than the myths about him were.

You will be able to read, from primary official documents, the details of every man for which John Woods was the assistant or primary hangman.  He did not, as magazines claimed, hang 347 men, nor did he hang, as he once claimed, 200 men.  Some were American soldiers; others had been  German or Austrian war criminals.  Then there were the last ten men Woods would ever hang, the top Nazi war criminals that had been condemned to death at the International Military Tribunal at Nürnberg.  Only Hermann Göring cheated Woods as he took poison just hours before his schedule execution.  You’ll read about that too and also about how Woods hanged Julius Streicher, one of the ten men, after Streicher had “disrespected” Woods on the scaffold!

But the story goes much deeper and reveals his young days, his short stint in the United States Navy about 1930, almost missing his wedding ceremony just after Prohibition was lifted, his brush with the law bouncing checks, driving a truck for a hearse company, joining the United States Army in 1943 and fighting at the Easy Red sector of Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944 as men died in bunches around him.

Did you know that John Woods could smoke a cigarette and blow smoke out of his ears?  Well, his nieces remembered that and a great deal of additional information about a man who adored his wife, loved dogs, liked to make officers uncomfortable, had an affinity for Wild Crow bourbon whiskey, had a storehouse of entertaining stories to tell his friends and who botched more than a few hangings, the reports of which made it back to the War Department in Washington, DC.

After reading this book, you will feel that not only do you know about John C. Woods but that you would have enjoyed having a beer with him.  In fact, one of the characters in this book used to do just that in various pubs at Le Mans, France almost every day for six months in 1945.  He’ll fill you in on details that the US Army never knew about the “American Hangman.”

But beware, it might not stop with a beer; as John might tell you: “I never saw three quarts of whiskey disappear so fast in my life.”  (Said to True: The Man’s Magazine at Fort Dix, New Jersey in November 1946, concerning his team having a few drinks after the Nürnberg hangings.)

An easy read, in deference to my Army Buddies, American Hangman sheds crucial light on the death penalty in the US Army in Europe in World War II, the execution of Nazi war criminals, and the effects of participating in an execution on the part of those ordered to carry it out.  And his mysterious death?  Well you’ll just have to hold off reading that last chapter till you get through the rest of the book!

For much of World War II, history books have described the influence that commissioned officers have had on shaping significant events.  Now it’s time for you to meet the man that went from private to master sergeant in one day and who had officers, from lieutenant to brigadier general, dancing to his tune.

 

 

American Hangman Published!!!2023-08-19T08:15:37-05:00

Master Sergeant John C. Woods

 

John C. Woods on troopship — this photo and several other photos of Woods in The Fifth Field were graciously supplied by the Associated Press archives

During World War II, Master Sergeant John C. Woods served as a hangman assigned to the Loire Disciplinary Training Center at Le Mans, France; in his capacity, he hanged at least twenty-three soldiers – and possibly up to thirty-five – and was the assistant hangman for five others in the European Theater of Operation.
Woods was born in Wichita, KS on June 5, 1911.  Woods, who came from a broken home and was placed in the custody of his grandmother and grandfather when his parents were divorced when he was ten, completed freshman year at Wichita High School, but the dropped out.  He enlisted in the Navy in 1929, but deserted.  Authorities apprehended him, convicted him by a Summary Court-Martial and dismissed him for being mentally unstable and unsuitable for military service.
He received a dishonorable discharge from the Civilian Conservation Corps after six months in 1933, when he went AWOL and refused to work.  Prior to his induction in the Army on August 30, 1943, he lived in Eureka, Kansas; he was married to Hazel Chilcott on September 30, 1933 in Eureka, Kansas; the couple had no children.  At his Army induction, he was listed as having blue eyes, brown hair with a ruddy complexion, standing 5’4½” tall and weighing 130 pounds.
He reported to Fort Leavenworth, KS to begin training on September 19, 1943; he was assigned to Company B of the 37th Engineer Combat Battalion in the 5th Engineer Special Brigade on March 30, 1944.  Woods may have participated in the landings on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944 with his unit.  He was attached to the 2913th Disciplinary Training Center in October 1944; orders in December 1944 show him assigned to the Provost Marshal Section in the Headquarters of the Brittany Base Section.  Woods was formally assigned to the 2913th DTC on February 12, 1945; on May 7, 1945, he was assigned to the Headquarters of the Normandy Base Section, but was attached back to the 2913th for duty.  On September 3, 1945, Woods was released from attachment and assigned to the Headquarters CHANOR Base Section.
Woods gained international fame in October 1946, as the official hangman for the International Military Tribunal at Nürnberg.  There, he executed ten senior German military and civilian officials previously convicted of egregious crimes against humanity, crimes against peace and war crimes.  During his career as a hangman, he reportedly executed 347 men, but this is a large exaggeration.
Woods was accidentally electrocuted on July 21, 1950 on Eniwetok Atoll.  He is buried in the city cemetery in Toronto, KS, a small town sixty miles east of Wichita, next to his wife.  John Woods was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (with one campaign star), the Good Conduct Medal, the Occupation (Germany) Medal, the World War II Victory Medal and a Distinguished Unit Badge.
John C. Woods was a central figure in The Fifth Field, but he deserves his own biography that is now in the making!

Master Sergeant John C. Woods2016-07-26T13:53:18-05:00

U.S. Army Executions in Europe during World War II, T-W

Last Name

First Name

DOB

Place of Birth

Date of Death

Location of Execution

Executioner

Type Execution

Valentine

Leo Sr.

Thursday, December 4, 1924

Gastonia, North Carolina

Wednesday, November 29, 1944

Beaunay, Marne, France

Henry L. Peck/Woods Assistant Hanged

Waters

John H.

Sunday, October 1, 1905

Perth Amboy, New Jersey

Thursday, February 10, 1944

Shepton Mallet Prison, England

Thomas Pierrepoint & Alexander Riley Hanged

Watson

Frank

Saturday, March 3, 1945

La Saussaye, Commune de Bure, Orne, France

John C. Woods Hanged

Watson

Joseph

Texarkana, Texas

Wednesday, November 8, 1944

Seine Disciplinary Training Center, Paris, France

Mortimer H. Christian Hanged

Watson

Ray

Tuesday, August 29, 1944

PBS Stockade Number 1, Aversa, Italy

Unknown Hanged

White

Armstead

Monday, August 30, 1943

Termini, Sicily

Joseph V. DePaul Dillon Hanged

White

David

Saturday, July 12, 1919

Shamrock, Florida

Monday, August 30, 1943

Termini, Sicily

Joseph V. DePaul Dillon Hanged

Whitfield

Clarence

Thursday, February 7, 1924

Wrightsville, North Carolina

Monday, August 14, 1944

Canisy, France

Thomas Pierrepoint Hanged
U.S. Army Executions in Europe during World War II, T-W2015-09-08T19:25:19-05:00

U.S. Army Executions in Europe during World War II, S-T

Last Name

First Name

DOB

Place of Birth

Date of Death

Location of Execution

Executioner

Type Execution

Spears

Charles E.

Friday, May 20, 1910

Zanesville, Ohio

Wednesday, April 19, 1944

PBS Stockade Number 1, Aversa, Italy

Unknown Hanged

Spencer

Elwood J.

Thursday, December 4, 1924

Gastonia, North Carolina

Tuesday, January 30, 1945

Fort d’Orange, Citadel, Namur, Belgium

John C. Woods Hanged

Spinks

Mansfield

Friday, November 7, 1924

Chicago, Illinois

Friday, October 19, 1945

PBS Stockade Number 1, Aversa, Italy

Firing Squad Shot

Stroud

Harvey L.

Saturday, March 26, 1921

Merrwell, Georgia

Monday, August 30, 1943

Termini, Sicily

Joseph V. DePaul Dillon Hanged

Taylor

John W.

Mississippi

Tuesday, March 20, 1945

PBS Stockade Number 1, Aversa, Italy

John W. Daschner, William Vassil, Durey G. Ranck Hanged

Thomas

Madison

Thursday, March 3, 1921

Arnaudville, Louisiana

Thursday, October 12, 1944

Shepton Mallet Prison, England

Thomas Pierrepoint & Albert Pierrepoint Hanged

Till

Louis

Madrid, Missouri

Monday, July 2, 1945

PBS Stockade Number 1, Aversa, Italy

Three lieutenants Hanged

Twiggs

James W.

Sunday, January 4, 1920

Topeka, Kansas

Monday, January 22, 1945

Loire Disciplinary Training Center, Le Mans, France

John C. Woods Hanged
U.S. Army Executions in Europe during World War II, S-T2015-08-28T22:05:03-05:00

U.S. Army Executions in Europe during World War II, S

Last Name

First Name

DOB

Place of Birth

Date of Death

Location of Execution

Executioner

Type Execution

Skinner

Robert L.

Tuesday, May 20, 1924

Paris, Tennessee

Saturday, February 10, 1945

Bricquebec, Manche, France

John C. Woods Hanged

Slovik

Eddie

Wednesday, February 18, 1920

Detroit, Michigan

Wednesday, January 31, 1945

Ste. Marie-Aux-Mines, France

Firing Squad Shot

Smalls

Abraham

Monday, October 31, 1910

Adams, Run South Carolina

Tuesday, March 27, 1945

PBS Stockade Number 1, Aversa, Italy

Unknown Hanged

Smith

George E. Jr.

Saturday, April 14, 1917

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Tuesday, May 8, 1945

Shepton Mallet Prison, England

Thomas Pierrepoint & Herbert Morris Hanged

Smith

John C.

Thursday, September 20, 1917

Bedford County, Virginia

Saturday, March 3, 1945

La Saussaye, Commune de Bure, Orne, France

John C. Woods Hanged

Smith

Willie

Friday, June 30, 1922

Birmingham, Alabama

Friday, August 11, 1944

Shepton Mallet Prison, England

Thomas Pierrepoint Hanged

Smith

Charles H.

Wednesday, October 6, 1909

Salem, Missouri

Monday, September 6, 1943

Oran, Algeria

Arthur S. Imell Hanged

Smith

Harold A.

Thursday, January 4, 1923

LaGrange, Georgia

Friday, June 25, 1943

Shepton Mallet Prison, England

Thomas Pierrepoint & Albert Pierrepoint Hanged
U.S. Army Executions in Europe during World War II, S2015-09-08T19:27:19-05:00

U.S. Army Executions in Europe during World War II, P-S

Last Name

First Name

DOB

Place of Birth

Date of Death

Location of Execution

Executioner

Type Execution

Philpot

Henry C.

Friday, June 22, 1917

Redding, California

Monday, September 10, 1945

Loire Disciplinary Training Center, Le Mans, France

John C. Woods Hanged

Pittman

Willie Aron

Monday, August 26, 1918

Campbellton, Florida

Monday, August 30, 1943

Termini, Sicily

Joseph V. DePaul Dillon Hanged

Pygate

Benjamin

Tuesday, February 2, 1909

Dillon, South Carolina

Tuesday, November 28, 1944

Shepton Mallet Prison, England

Philip J. Flynn (led Firing Squad) Shot

Robinson

Charles M.

Wednesday, April 4, 1923

Houston, Texas

Friday, September 28, 1945

Loire Disciplinary Training Center, Le Mans, France

John C. Woods Hanged

Rollins

Alvin R.

Friday, December 5, 1924

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Thursday, May 31, 1945

Loire Disciplinary Training Center, Le Mans, France

John C. Woods Hanged

Sanders

James B.

Saturday, June 9, 1917

Lockhart, South Carolina

Wednesday, October 25, 1944

Seine Disciplinary Training Center, Paris, France

Mortimer H. Christian/Woods Assistant Hanged

Schmiedel

Werner

Sunday, May 4, 1919

Allentown, Pennsylvania

Monday, June 11, 1945

PBS Stockade Number 1, Aversa, Italy

Unknown Hanged

Scott

Richard B.

Wednesday, August 23, 1916

Carrolton, Texas

Saturday, November 18, 1944

Fort Du Roule, Cherbourg, France

Mortimer H. Christian Hanged
U.S. Army Executions in Europe during World War II, P-S2015-09-08T19:32:16-05:00

U.S. Army Executions in Europe during World War II, M-P

Last Name

First Name

DOB

Place of Birth

Date of Death

Location of Execution

Executioner

Type Execution

Miranda

Alex F.

Saturday, July 28, 1923

Santa Ana, California

Tuesday, May 30, 1944

Shepton Mallet Prison, England

Firing Squad Shot

Nelson

Henry W.

Friday, March 28, 1924

East St. Louis, Illinois

Thursday, July 5, 1945

PBS Stockade Number 1, Aversa, Italy

Unknown Hanged

Newman

Oscar N.

Friday, July 19, 1918

Macon, Ohio

Wednesday, November 29, 1944

Beaunay, Marne, France

Henry L. Peck/Woods Assistant Hanged

Norris

Clete O.

Friday, March 1, 1918

Palestine, Texas

Thursday, May 31, 1945

Loire Disciplinary Training Center, Le Mans, France

John C. Woods Hanged

Ortiz

Victor

Tuesday, January 6, 1914

Coamo, Puerto Rico

Thursday, June 21, 1945

Loire Disciplinary Training Center, Le Mans, France

John C. Woods Hanged

Parker

Woodrow

Alabama

Monday, October 15, 1945

Les Milles, France (Delta DTC)

Firing Squad Shot

Pearson

Robert L.

Wednesday, May 30, 1923

Mayflower, Arkansas

Saturday, March 17, 1945

Shepton Mallet Prison, England

Thomas Pierrepoint & Herbert Morris Hanged

Pennyfeather

William D.

Wednesday, July 21, 1920

New York, New York

Saturday, November 18, 1944

Fort Du Roule, Cherbourg, France

Mortimer H. Christian Hanged
U.S. Army Executions in Europe during World War II, M-P2015-09-08T19:29:29-05:00

U.S. Army Executions in Europe during World War II, M

Last Name

First Name

DOB

Place of Birth

Date of Death

Location of Execution

Executioner

Type Execution

Mack

William

Wednesday, September 21, 1910

St. George, South Carolina

Thursday, February 15, 1945

Plabennec, Finisterre, France

John C. Woods Hanged

Mariano

Blake W.

Tuesday, April 4, 1916

Mariana Lake, New Mexico

Wednesday, October 10, 1945

Loire Disciplinary Training Center, Le Mans, France

John C. Woods Hanged

Martinez

Aniceto

Tuesday, May 30, 1922

Vallecitos, New Mexico

Friday, June 15, 1945

Shepton Mallet Prison, England

Thomas Pierrepoint & Albert Pierrepoint Hanged

Maxey

Curtis L.

Friday, June 16, 1922

Deatsville, Alabama

Saturday, November 18, 1944

PBS Stockade Number 1, Aversa, Italy

Unknown Hanged

McCarter

William J.

Monday, October 22, 1906

Charlotte, North Carolina

Monday, May 28, 1945

Loire Disciplinary Training Center, Le Mans, France

John C. Woods Hanged

McGann

Theron W.

Saturday, June 25, 1921

Portland, Oregon

Monday, November 20, 1944

St. Lo, Manche, France

Mortimer H. Christian Hanged

McGhee

Shelton Sr.

Monday, May 8, 1916

Holly Springs, Mississippi

Friday, May 4, 1945

PBS Stockade Number 1, Aversa, Italy

N. G. Neiswender Hanged

McMurray

Fred A.

Wednesday, February 25, 1920

Ruston, Louisiana

Monday, July 2, 1945

PBS Stockade Number 1, Aversa, Italy

Three lieutenants Hanged
U.S. Army Executions in Europe during World War II, M2015-09-08T19:22:07-05:00

U.S. Army Executions in Europe during World War II, H-J

Last Name

First Name

DOB

Place of Birth

Date of Death

Location of Execution

Executioner

Type Execution

Heard

Haze

Wednesday, June 7, 1922

Toccoa, Georgia

Monday, May 21, 1945

Mesnil-Clinchamps, Calvados, France

John C. Woods Hanged

Hendricks

James E.

Sunday, April 29, 1923

Drewry, North Carolina

Friday, November 24, 1944

Chateau La Vallee, Plumaudan, Cotes-du-Nord, France

Mortimer H. Christian Hanged

Holden

Mervin

Friday, October 1, 1920

Robeline, Louisiana

Tuesday, January 30, 1945

Fort d’Orange, Citadel, Namur, Belgium

John C. Woods Hanged

Hopper

Benjamin F.

Friday, August 20, 1920

Hickory, North Carolina

Wednesday, April 11, 1945

Loire Disciplinary Training Center, Le Mans, France

John C. Woods Hanged

Jefferies

Charles H.

Sunday, July 15, 1923

Coatesville, Pennsylvania

Thursday, July 5, 1945

PBS Stockade Number 1, Aversa, Italy

 Unknown Hanged

Johnson

Willie

Sunday, December 25, 1921

Idaville, Oklahoma

Tuesday, June 26, 1945

La Heye Peshnel, France

John C. Woods Hanged

Jones

John T.

Sunday, August 11, 1912

Silvercreek, Mississippi

Thursday, July 5, 1945

PBS Stockade Number 1, Aversa, Italy

Unknown Hanged

Jones

James L.

Thursday, December 12, 1912

Reform, Alabama

Thursday, April 19, 1945

La Pernelle, Hameau Scipion, Normandy, France

John C. Woods Hanged
U.S. Army Executions in Europe during World War II, H-J2015-09-08T19:39:50-05:00
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