Veteran of 3 wars killed by intruder

July 30, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

DAYTON (AP) — The brown leather chair he occupied daily on the front porch stood empty Wednesday. A yellow tabby he called “Kitty Kitty” curled up nearby, waiting for an owner who will never return.

Apparently slain by an intruder, the 85-year-old veteran who served in three wars was remembered by friends and acquaintances as a spry and friendly figure of military bearing who would help neighbors with their chores.

Police say North Woodall died Monday night after someone forced open the front door of his small brick home in Dayton. Woodall died of blunt force trauma to the head.

“It appears to be a robbery, although we don’t know if any articles were taken,” said Dayton police Sgt. Gary White.

Authorities say Woodall served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam before retiring as a Green Beret in Army Special Forces.

“He’s lived through three wars, and probably some punk came in and killed him for $10,” said John Fleeger, who drove Woodall and other military veterans to the nation’s capital for a visit last month.

A neighbor, who said she was frightened by the crime and refused to give her name, said Woodall’s wife died about two years ago. She said he would watch the world go by from his porch, was fond of gumbo and would often take her trash cans to the curb for her.

Woodall traveled to Washington to see the World War II Memorial for the first time.

Bernie Coppock, who sat next to him on the trip, described the veteran as a tall, trim man. “North had a kind of quiet confidence about him,” said Coppock, 74, of Franklin. “When he said something, you kind of wanted to listen to him.”

After the group arrived, Woodall had someone drive him from the hotel so he could buy some cigars, Coppock said. The next day, the group saw a half-dozen memorials. And unlike some of the veterans who required wheelchairs, Woodall walked the entire tour.

When Woodall laid eyes on the World War II Memorial, he began to cry.

“He tried not to let anybody see it,” Coppock recalled. “He got very emotional. But it seemed like the more emotional he got, the taller he stood.”

Fleeger said Woodall enjoyed the trip.

“You could just tell by the look on his face,” Fleeger said.

Fleeger, 69, of Springfield said he was stunned by Woodall’s death.

Woodall joined the Vietnam Veterans of America a few weeks ago after he was invited by a member who befriended him at the VA Medical Center in Dayton.