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((Use mdy dates|date=August 2021))
((short description|United States Army soldier and the first Sergeant Major of the Army))
((More citations needed|date=January 2008))
((Infobox military person
|name= William O. Wooldridge
|image= William Wooldridge.jpg
|image_size= 
|alt= 
|caption= Sergeant Major of the Army William O. Wooldridge
|nickname= 
|birth_date= ((Birth date|1922|8|12))
|birth_place= [[Shawnee, Oklahoma]]
|death_date= ((Death date and age|2012|03|05|1922|08|12))
|death_place= [[El Paso, Texas]]
|placeofburial= [[Fort Bliss National Cemetery]]
|allegiance= United States
|branch= [[United States Army]]
|serviceyears= 1940–1972
|rank= [[Sergeant Major of the Army]]
|unit= 
|commands= 
|battles= [[World War II]]<br/>[[Vietnam War]]
|awards= [[Silver Star]] (2)<br/>[[Legion of Merit]] (2)<br/>[[Bronze Star Medal]]<br/>[[Air Medal]] (6)<br/>[[Army Commendation Medal]] (2)<br/>[[Purple Heart]]<br/>[[Croix de guerre (Belgium)|Croix de guerre]] (Belgium)
|relations= 
|laterwork= 
))
'''William O. Wooldridge''' (August 12, 1922 – March 5, 2012) was a [[United States Army]] soldier and the first [[Sergeant Major of the Army]].

Wooldridge served on active duty from 1940 to 1972. His military career spanned two wars and 14 campaigns, during which he was twice decorated for gallantry in action. He was sworn in as the first Sergeant Major of the Army on July 11, 1966.

==Early life==
William Wooldridge was born in [[Shawnee, Oklahoma]], and grew up in Texas. He enlisted in the [[United States Army]] at [[Fort Worth]],<ref>((Cite web |title=First SMA Wooldridge: 'Take care of each man as though he were your own brother. He is.' |url=https://www.army.mil/article/75153/first_sma_wooldridge_take_care_of_each_man_as_though_he_were_your_own_brother_he_is))</ref> Texas on November 11, 1940.

==Military career==
Wooldridge served first with Company F, [[23rd Infantry Regiment (United States)|23rd Regiment]], [[2nd Infantry Division (United States)|2nd Infantry Division]]. In December 1941 he was assigned to detached service with the British forces in Iceland. The following year, he was released from detached service and assigned to Company K, [[26th Infantry Regiment (United States)|26th Regiment]], [[1st Infantry Division (United States)|1st Infantry Division]] when it arrived in England. He served with his division throughout World War II in an infantry rifle company, being promoted through the ranks to [[first sergeant]]. Wooldridge landed on [[D-Day]] as a squad leader (sergeant).

Wooldridge was awarded the [[Silver Star]] for gallantry at the [[Battle of Aachen]] in Germany in October 1944. He also received a [[Purple Heart]] for injuries in this battle. He was awarded a second Silver Star for gallantry during the [[Battle of the Bulge]] in December 1944, while serving as a platoon sergeant.

Wooldridge returned to [[Fort Sam Houston]], Texas in May 1945. In October he was assigned to the Pacific Theater. After attending the 1st 3 Graders Course, Oahu Officer Troop and Staff School, at [[Schofield Barracks]], [[Hawaii]], he was assigned to Headquarters, [[U.S. Eighth Army|Eighth United States Army]], South Korea as a member of the occupation forces. In July 1948 Wooldridge was assigned as a platoon sergeant in the 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, at [[Bamberg]], Germany. He was promoted to first sergeant in Company K, 26th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division, in 1950.

In May 1954, Wooldridge returned to the United States as first sergeant of Company G, [[3rd United States Infantry Regiment (TOG)|3rd Infantry]], at [[Fort McNair]] in Washington, D.C. He rejoined the 1st Infantry Division as first sergeant of Company D, 26th Infantry at [[Fort Riley]], Kansas in December 1955. On December 20, 1956, he was appointed sergeant major of the 3rd Battalion, 26th Regiment. He left Fort Riley as sergeant major of the 2nd Battle Group, [[28th Infantry Regiment (United States)|28th Infantry Regiment]], for duty in [[West Germany]] in December 1958, and became the [[24th Infantry Division (United States)|24th Infantry Division]]'s sergeant major in March 1963.

Wooldridge returned to the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley as sergeant major of the 1st Brigade in February 1965. In June 1965 he was selected by the division commander, Major General [[Jonathan O. Seaman]], as the division sergeant major. The next month he deployed with the division's advance party to [[South Vietnam]]. He served as division sergeant major until his selection as the first [[Sergeant Major of the Army]] in July 1966.

===Sergeant Major of the Army===
Wooldridge was chosen for the important new position of Sergeant Major of the Army from thousands of candidates. He served as Sergeant Major of the Army until September 1968. He is credited with improving the status of the non-commissioned officers by convening the first Major Command Sergeants Major Conference and recommending the Non-commissioned Officer Candidate Course, the [[United States Army Sergeants Major Academy|Sergeants Major Academy]], the Command Sergeant Major program, and a standardized non-commissioned officer promotion process. Wooldridge and General [[Harold K. Johnson]], the [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army]], worked together as an effective professional team. He came to revere Johnson, calling him "the finest officer I ever served with in my life".

After serving as Sergeant Major of the Army, Wooldridge returned to South Vietnam as sergeant major of the [[Military Assistance Command, Vietnam]] (MACV). He is the only Sergeant Major of the Army to return to field duty after serving in the top enlisted position.

Wooldridge's appointment was recorded in the Congressional Record of the 89th Congress Vol. 112, No. 110.

===Controversy and PX scandal===
In 1969, while command sergeant major of MACV, Wooldridge was accused in a congressional inquiry of fraud and corruption related to the military club system, amounting to more than $150 million annually.<ref>((Cite web |title=Senate hearings: Servicemen' Clubs, Black-Marketeering Investigated |url=https://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/document.php?id=cqal69-1247070 |access-date=March 21, 2015))</ref> The inquiry found that then [[United States Army Provost Marshal General]], [[Carl C. Turner]] had ignored Wooldridge's earlier theft and [[AWOL]] offenses that were notified to him at the time of Wooldridge's appointment as first Sergeant Major of the Army was announced in late 1966.<ref name=Senate>((cite book|title=Fraud and corruption in management of military club systems Report of the Committee on Government Operations United States Senate|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|year=1971|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uJHZComtllcC))((PD-notice))</ref>((rp|46-7)) Turner was later accused of having covered up an attempt by Wooldridge to smuggle 8-9 cases of liquor aboard General [[Creighton Abrams]]' [[Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker|KC-135]] jet in April 1967.<ref name=Senate/>((rp|47-8)) In late 1967 Turner ordered the [[United States Army Criminal Investigation Division]] that Wooldridge's name be removed from the list of soldiers being investigated into irregularities at the [[Non-commissioned officer]] (NCO) club at [[Fort Benning]].<ref name=Senate/>((rp|52)) Turner was also accused of having suppressed the ''Augsburg File'' which detailed the corruption of Wooldridge and other NCOs of the 24th Infantry Division in [[Augsburg]], West Germany in the early 1960s.<ref name=Senate/>((rp|55)) The subcommittee concluded that Turner had given Wooldridge and his associates immunity from investigation and "was grossly negligent in the performance of his official duties."<ref name=Senate/>((rp|293)) 

Wooldridge together with American businessman [[William J. Crum]] arranged to have Sergeant William Higdon appointed as custodian of the NCO club system at [[Long Binh Post]] in November 1967.<ref name=Senate1>((cite book|title=Fraud and corruption in management of military club systems Report of the Committee on Government Operations United States Senate|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|year=1971|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WFnQAAAAMAAJ))((PD-notice))</ref>((rp|210)) Higdon testified that between then and July 1968 Crum paid him a total of approximately US$60,000 of [[Kickback (bribery)|kickbacks]] from the slot machine operations.<ref name=Senate1/>((rp|76)) In August 1968 Wooldridge brokered a deal between Crum and Maredem Inc. (a company owned by Wooldridge, Higdon and Sergeant Hatcher, the custodian of the [[1st Infantry Division (United States)|1st Infantry Division]] NCO clubs) under which Maredem would have the monopoly on snack items in the NCO clubs while Crum would have the monopoly on slot machines. Maredem wanted to take control of all operations, but it recognized that Crum was too powerful and was capable of paying larger kickbacks than Maredem.<ref name=Senate1/>((rp|115))

In 1973 the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] and Wooldridge reached an agreement whereby Wooldridge pleaded guilty to accepting stock equity from Maredem.<ref>((Cite news |date=March 1, 1973 |title=Former Top G.I. and 2 Others Plead Guilty in Kickback Case |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/03/01/archives/former-top-g-i-and-2-others-plead-guilty-in-kickback-case.html |access-date=May 9, 2021 |issn=0362-4331))</ref>

Wooldridge had earlier been awarded the [[Army Distinguished Service Medal]], but it was revoked following this episode. In [[June Collins]] and [[Robin Moore]]'s novel ''[[Khaki Mafia]]'', a fictional character in a criminal cartel is based on Wooldridge in South Vietnam.

==Later life==
Wooldridge died in El Paso, Texas, on March 5, 2012, at the age of 89.<ref name="death">((Cite web |last=Daniel Borunda |date=March 5, 2012 |title=1st sergeant major of the Army dies at Beaumont |url=http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_20117868/1st-sergeant-major-army-dies-at-beaumont |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130121234738/http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_20117868/1st-sergeant-major-army-dies-at-beaumont |archive-date=January 21, 2013 |access-date=March 7, 2012 |website=El Paso Times))</ref> He is buried at [[Fort Bliss National Cemetery]] in Section A, Lot 56.<ref>((Cite web |title=Nationwide Gravesite Locator |url=http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/index.html |access-date=April 8, 2014 |archive-date=June 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601190609/https://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/index.html |url-status=dead ))</ref>

==Awards and decorations==
{|
|[[File:CIB2.png|100px]] [[Combat Infantryman Badge]], 2 awards
|}
{|
|((ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Silver_Star_ribbon.svg|width=60))
|[[Silver Star]] with [[oak leaf cluster]]
|-
|((ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|width=60))
|[[Legion of Merit]] with oak leaf cluster
|-
|((ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Bronze Star ribbon.svg|width=60))
|[[Bronze Star Medal]]
|-
|((ribbon devices|number=5|type=oak|ribbon=Air Medal ribbon.svg|width=60))
|[[Air Medal]] with silver oak leaf cluster<ref name="AUSA">((Cite web |title=1st SMA – William O. Wooldridge |url=http://www.ausa.org/resources/nco/sma/Pages/1stSMA-WilliamOWooldridge.aspx |access-date=October 8, 2015 |publisher=Association of the United States Army))</ref>
|-
|((ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Army Commendation Medal ribbon.svg|width=60))
|[[Army Commendation Medal]] with oak leaf cluster
|-
|((ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Purple Heart ribbon.svg|width=60))
|[[Purple Heart]]
|-
|((ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=AGC_10.jpg|width=60))
|[[Army Good Conduct Medal]] (ten awards)
|-
|((ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=American Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60))
|[[American Defense Service Medal]]
|-
|((ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign ribbon.svg|width=60))
|[[European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Medal]]
|-
|((ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign ribbon.svg|width=60))
|[[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]]
|-
|((ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=60))
|[[World War II Victory Medal (United States)|World War II Victory Medal]]
|-
|((ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Army of Occupation ribbon.svg|width=60))
|[[Army of Occupation Medal]] with [[Army of Occupation Medal#Germany|Germany]] and [[Army of Occupation Medal#Japan|Japan]] clasps
|-
|((ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60))
|[[National Defense Service Medal]] with oak leaf cluster
|-
|((ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal ribbon.svg|width=60))
|[[Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal]]
|-
|((ribbon devices|number=2|type=service-star|ribbon=Vietnam Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60))
|[[Vietnam Service Medal]] with two [[service star]]s
|-
|((ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Oorlogskruis with Palm.jpg|width=60))
|[[Croix de guerre (Belgium)|Belgian Croix de guerre]] with palm
|-
|((ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Vietnam Campaign Medal ribbon with 60- clasp.svg|width=60))
|[[Vietnam Campaign Medal]]
|-
|[[File:ArmyOSB.svg|60px]]
|6 [[Overseas Service Bar]]s
|-
|[[File:Service stripe.jpg|60px]]
|10 [[Service stripe]]s
|-
|[[File:No free image.png|80px]]
|French [[Fourragère]] World War II
|}

==References==
''The Sergeants Major of the Army'', Daniel K. Elder, Center of Military History, United States Army Washington, D.C. 2003. Page 67.
((reflist))

==External links==
*[http://www3.ausa.org/webpub/DeptNCOStuff.nsf/byid/CCRN-6CCRFG Wooldridge's Army career on the Association of the Army site]
* ((Internet Archive short film|id=gov.dod.dimoc.26981|name=STAFF FILM REPORT 66-29A (1966)))
* ((Internet Archive short film|id=gov.dod.dimoc.26983|name=STAFF FILM REPORT 66-30A (1966)))

((S-start))
((s-mil))
((s-new|office))
((s-ttl||title=[[Sergeant Major of the Army]]|years=1966–1968))
((s-aft|after=((nowrap|[[George W. Dunaway]]))))
((S-end))

((DEFAULTSORT:Wooldridge, William O.))
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:2012 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Shawnee, Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Oklahoma]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Silver Star]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Air Medal]]
[[Category:Sergeants Major of the Army]]

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