Master Sergeant 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

Tom Ward

Tom Ward and the author

Thomas J. Ward, 96, of New Cumberland, passed away on Sunday, December 19, 2021 in his residence with his loving family at his side.  He was retired from the New Cumberland Army Depot, and was formerly a Foreman with Miller & Norford Construction Contractors, Lemoyne.  Tom attended Christian Life Assembly, Camp Hill; was a member of the Order of the Purple Heart; and a master craftsman working with wood, stone and small engines.  Anyone who needed anything fixed would bring it to Tom.  He was born in Lemoyne, the son of the late John C. and Edith (Grey) Ward.  He was also preceded in death by a daughter and a son, Jonette Ward and Jeffrey Martin and siblings, Elva, Romaine, Vance, Tennis, Robert, Margaret, Richard and Preston.  Tom is survived by his loving wife of more than 43 years, Winifred (Shuff) Ward; children, Thomas J. Ward, Jr. of Coudersport, Barbara Fontaine of Athol, ID, John Ward of Camp Hill, Christine McGee of Harrisburg and Karen Martin of Mechanicsburg; grandchildren, Allen, Thomas, Tony, John, Lainie, Cameron, Jeremy, Joshua, Heather and Taylor; thirteen great grandchildren; and two great-great grandchildren.  Funeral services were held on Monday, December 27, 2021 in Parthemore Funeral Home & Cremation Services, New Cumberland.

Born on June 9, 1925 at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Tom enlisted on September 2, 1943 and was assigned to Company I, 23rd Infantry Regiment in the Second U.S. Infantry Division.  An Infantry sergeant, Tom was decorated with four Purple Hearts, the Bronze Star, the Combat Infantryman Badge and numerous campaign awards, having served in Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland and Ardennes-Alsace.  After his fourth wound, he departed the 2nd Infantry Division in 1945 and reported to the Loire Disciplinary Training Center, where he served as the supply sergeant.

Loire Disciplinary Training Center.  Sergeant Tom Ward on left

At Le Mans, Tom was John Woods, the U.S. Army hangman in Europe, closest friend, often going downtown in the evening for a beer together, although they never discussed at the pubs what happened inside the center.  He recalled that the day before each execution, Woods would walk to the supply room to get the rope and black hood that would be used in the upcoming event; a new rope was used for each hanging, although Woods would use each black hood several times.  He also recalled that many of the executions occurred just before noon, when many of the men in the stockade – not involved in the execution – were standing in line outside the mess hall for lunch, and when the trap door opened, the motion was so violent and unique that the loud noise could be heard throughout the DTC and this distinctive sound spoiled many a man’s appetite.  Later, Master Sergeant Woods even asked Tom to be his assistant hangman, but the quiet sergeant from Pennsylvania had seen enough death and declined.

Without his help, American Hangman could not have been written.  But in addition to his historical knowledge, Tom was one of the most decent human beings I have ever known.  A tough soldier, he unleashed hell on a German defensive position after one of his men had been killed in the ongoing combat.  And later, Tom once knocked out a fellow American sergeant with one punch for calling him a REMF.  But Tom also had compassion for everyone he met in life who had things harder than he did.  During the war, Thomas Ward broke regulations and gave army blankets to refugees he met on his supply runs from Le Mans to Le Havre during the cold winter of 1944-45, and seventy years after the war ended, he was still hopeful that they had survived and went on to have a happy life.

Congratulations Sergeant Ward.  Yours was a life well-lived.

Tom Ward2023-06-20T14:16:37-05:00

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, W-Y

Last Name

First Name

DOB

Place of Birth

Date of Death

Location of Execution

Executioner

Type Execution

Williams

John

Thursday, March 8, 1917

Orlando, Florida

Thursday, April 19, 1945

La Pernelle, Hameau Scipion, Normandy, France

John C. Woods Hanged

Williams

Olin W.

Friday, September 16, 1921

Elloree, South Carolina

Thursday, March 29, 1945

Le Chene Daniel, Manche, France

John C. Woods Hanged

Wilson

J. P.

Thursday, January 24, 1918

Columbus, Mississippi

Friday, February 2, 1945

Lerouville, Meuse, France

John C. Woods Hanged

Wimberly

Willie Jr.

Saturday, September 21, 1912

Macon, Georgia

Wednesday, November 8, 1944

Seine Disciplinary Training Center, Paris, France

Mortimer H. Christian Hanged

Wray

Robert

Sunday, March 27, 1921

Shelby, North Carolina

Monday, August 20, 1945

Loire Disciplinary Training Center, Le Mans, France

John C. Woods Hanged

Yancy

Waiters

Saturday, February 10, 1945

Bricquebec, Manche, France

John C. Woods Hanged
U.S. Army Executions in Europe during World War II, W-Y2015-09-08T19:17:25-05:00

Sergeant Richard A. Mosley

(June 2, 2014) Sergeant and Military Police guard Richard A. Mosley served at the Loire Disciplinary Training Center, during which time he escorted seven condemned men to the gallows.  The son of Irish immigrants, Mosley was born in Pineville, KY on February 22, 1904.  He joined the Navy in World War I, but received a discharge for being underage.  He spent five years at the University of Illinois, studying electrical and mechanical engineering.  He subsequently was the foreman for an automobile service center.  Although he was partially blind in one eye, he entered the Army at Los Angeles on August 1, 1942 and became a powerhouse engineer.  After arriving in Great Britain on June 1, 1943, he was transferred to new duties as a military specialty 635 – disciplinarian.  He stood 6’5″ tall and weighed 203 pounds.  On March 1, 1945, he became a first sergeant in the 1008th Engineer Services Battalion.  Mosley was discharged at Fort MacArthur, CA on August 31, 1945.  He was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, the World War II Victory Medal and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with a Bronze Service Star for Northern France.  Mosley lived in Hanford, CA until his death on January 5, 1953.  He is buried at Grangeville Cemetery in Armona, CA.

However, this is only part of the story.  In May 2014, family members of Sergeant Mosley contacted the author with additional, critical information.  Richard Mosley had died in 1953, but the cause of death was a suicide.  For decades, Mrs. Mosley and her children questioned themselves as to whether they may have contributed to Sergeant Mosley’s decision to end his life.  When you read The Fifth Field, you will see the level of compassion that Sergeant Mosley displayed toward condemned prisoners; a witness to one execution recalled in 2011 how Sergeant Mosley let a man smoke a last cigarette before climbing the stairs of the gallows.

Sergeant Richard A. Mosley did not take his own life over family issues or finances.  In my opinion, Sergeant Mosley was a classic case of Post-Traumatic Stress and he was unable to get the help he needed before it overwhelmed him.

Sergeant Richard A. Mosley2015-09-30T19:59:00-05:00

John C. Woods

John C. Woods, Master Sergeant and U. S. Army hangman, was born in Wichita, Kansas on June 5, 1911.  Prior to his induction in the Army on August 30, 1943, he lived in Eureka, Kansas; he was married with no children.  After his parents separated, Woods attended high school for one year, before dropping out.  In 1933, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, but was dishonorably discharged on September 27, 1933 after being AWOL for six days and refusing to work.  At his 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 basic training on September 19, 1943; in early 1944, he deployed on a troopship to England and was assigned to FFRD #4.  On March 30, 1944, he was assigned to Company B of the 37th Engineer Combat Battalion in the 5th Engineer Special Brigade.  Morning reports for that unit do not indicate that Woods was ever absent from the command in the first six months; he therefore likely took part in the Normandy Invasion, where Company B invaded Omaha Beach, losing 4 KIA, 15 WIA and 3 MIA in just the first day.

Woods left Company B on October 3, 1944 for duty in the Normandy Base Section.  He was attached to the 2913th Disciplinary Training Center in 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 Disciplinary Training Center 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.

However, unknown to the Army, there was a dark secret about John C. Woods.  On December 3, 1929, John Woods joined the United States Navy.  He reported to the west coast.  After initial training, he received an assignment for the U.S.S. Saratoga.  Within months, Woods deserted.  Authorities apprehended him in Colorado and returned him to California, where he received a General Court-Martial.  After the conviction, a Navy medical officer recommended that a medical board examine Woods.  This happened on April 23, 1930.  The report following the examination read:

“This patient, though not intellectually inferior, gives a history of repeatedly running counter to authority both before and since enlistment.  Stigmata of degeneration are present and the patient frequently bites his fingernails.  He has a benign tumor of the soft palate for which he refuses operation.  His commanding officer and division officers state that he shows inaptitude and does not respond to instruction.  He is obviously poor service material.  This man has had less than five months service.  His disability is considered to be an inherent defect for which the service is in no way responsible.  [He] is not considered a menace to himself or others.”

The report also provided a diagnosis for John Woods – Constitutional Psychopathic Inferiority without Psychosis.  The Navy then discharged him.

On September 3, 1945, Master Sergeant Woods was released from attachment and assigned to the Headquarters CHANOR Base Section.  During 1944 and 1945, Master Sergeant Woods hanged about thirty U.S. soldiers, who had been sentenced to death.  After the war, he hanged dozens of Nazi war criminals at the Landsberg Military Prisoner, often in conjunction with Johann Reichhart – who had executed thousands of condemned persons during the Third Reich.  Woods gained international fame in October 1946, as the official hangman for the International Military Tribunal at Nürnberg. Woods executed ten senior German military and civilian officials previously convicted of egregious crimes against humanity, crimes against peace and war crimes – the condemned included Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, Colonel General Alfred Jodl, former head of the SS Ernst Kaltenbrunner, former Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, Alfred Rosenberg, Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Julius Streicher, Fritz Sauckel and Arthur Seyss-Inquart.  Post-execution photos indicate that the trap door mechanism was flawed and that several of the condemned hit the door with their face as they plummeted downward.  During his supposed 15-year career as a hangman, he reportedly executed 347 men, but this is undoubtedly a large exaggeration as Woods was a heavy drinker and self-aggrandizer.  An 11-year search of military records indicates that it is far more likely that Woods had a 2-year career and hanged 60-100 men.

Dual gallows at Landsberg Military Prison, May 1946.  Johann Reichhart hanged the condemned on the right gallows.  Master Sergeant John C. Woods used the left gallows.

Master Sergeant Woods was accidentally electrocuted on July 21, 1950 on Eniwetok Atoll, while attempting to repair an engineer lighting set (not while constructing an electric chair, which is part of his myth.  Another anecdote from Europe after his death was that German scientists on Eniwetok as part of Operation Paperclip murdered Woods and made it look like an accident.)

He was survived by his wife.

John C. Woods with wife in 1946; this photo and several others of Woods in The Fifth Field were graciously supplied by the Associated Press archives

Woods is buried in the modest city cemetery in Toronto, Kansas, a small town 60 miles east of Wichita.  John C. Woods received no individual military awards during his career for his service as a hangman.

Grave stone for Master Sergeant John C. Woods

John C. Woods2021-06-27T18:18:23-05:00

Julius Streicher, Editor of Der Stürmer

Julius Streicher

Julius Streicher, Gauleiter of Franconia and editor of Der Stürmer, Germany’s most violent anti-Semitic journal.  Streicher said of Hermann Göring, “He never really consummated his marriage – Yes I know it was Göring who was responsible for having me kicked out of my position as Gauleiter in 1940, on account of that story about his child being a test-tube baby.  But I can’t help that.  I must speak what I believe to be the truth.”  Streicher was convicted of war crimes and hanged by Master Sergeant John C. Woods at Nürnberg on October 16, 1946.  His last words were, “Heil Hitler!  Festival of Purim 1946 – and now to God.  The Bolsheviks hang you too – I am with God Father.”

Julius Streicher, Editor of Der Stürmer2015-09-10T12:31:14-05:00

Nazis on trial at Nürnberg

Nazis on trial at Nürnberg

Nazis on trial at Nürnberg; on the left is Hermann Göring, center is Rudolf Hess and right is Joachim von Ribbentrop.  Göring, the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, said of Hess, the Deputy Führer, “But Hess – he’s insane.  He’s been insane for a long time.  We knew it when he flew to England.”  Göring took poison and committed suicide on October 15, 1946 – hours before he was to be hanged.  Hess died under mysterious circumstances on July 17, 1987, while confined at Spandau Prison in Berlin.  Von Ribbentrop was convicted of war crimes and hanged by Master Sergeant John C. Woods at Nürnberg on October 16, 1946.  His last words were, “God guard Germany!  God have mercy on my soul!  My final wish is that Germany should recover her unity and that, for the sake of world peace, there should be understanding between East and West.”

Nazis on trial at Nürnberg2015-09-10T12:32:00-05:00

Himmler, SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Ziereis (Mauthausen) and Kaltenbrunner

Himmler, Ziereis and Kaltenbrunner

Heinrich Himmler (left) with SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Ziereis (pointing, in the center) and Ernst Kaltenbrunner (right) at Mauthausen.  Mauthausen, and its satellite camps, were the scene of 70,000 to 120,000 deaths among the inmates.  Ziereis served at Mauthausen from 1939 to 1945.  American troops near the camp shot him and he died of his wounds on May 24, 1945.  Ernst Kaltenbrunner took over the Reich Main Security Service (RSHA) after the death of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942.  Kaltenbrunner was convicted of war crimes and hanged by Master Sergeant John C. Woods at Nürnberg on October 16, 1946.

Himmler, SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Ziereis (Mauthausen) and Kaltenbrunner2015-09-09T20:02:20-05:00
Go to Top