William Moody

William Moody
October 30, 1925 ? June 9, 2006

Chaplain William "Bill" Moody, 80, of Hewitt passed away on Friday, June 9, 2006.

Services will be 10:30 am Friday at the First United Methodist Church, 4901 Cobbs Drive, with Pastor Stephen Ramsdell officiating.

Military gravesite rights will follow at Rosemound Cemetery.

Bill was born on October 30, 1925 in Laurel, Mississippi to Arthur Byron and Helen (Smith) Moody.

He was united in marriage to Bobbie Christine Brim, and they had fifty-six wonderful years together. Bill was a retired and very loved minister.

He served in the Marine Corps during WWII on Okinawa , Iwo Jima and Saipan. Bill returned to Baylor University and received his Bachelors degree.

When the Vietnam war started he went back into the Navy as a Chaplain, (he retired from the Navy) and he asked to be assigned to the Marine Corps. He served as their chaplain providing religious services eight times a day, seven days a week for 13 months in combat zones, often risking his life, for which service he was awarded the silver star.

Bill Moody suffered from several diseases resulting from exposure to Agent Orange poisoning obtained during the Vietnam War.

After the War he served as a National Chaplain for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was named Chaplain Emeritus of the Texas Veterans Foreign Wars.

He was elected to the Chapel of Four Chaplains. Commander Moody founded the Good Soldier Foundation in 1986 and presented the Spirit of America Medal to 56 distinguished veterans, and the Spirit of America Award to 463 high school students of high integrity.

For the past ten years he drove to Fort Hood twice a week to tell solders how much they were appreciated and gave them over five thousand books.

Bill is survived by his wife, Bobbie of Hewitt; son, Alan Byron Moody of Marlin; daughter, Robin Luree Moody of Plano; grandsons, Matthew Byron Moody of Grapevine and Alexander Edward Moody-Wolski of Plano; granddaughters, Christen Diane Holcombe of North Richland Hills, Grace Elizabeth Moody-Wolski of Plano and Hope Jaqueline Moody-Zimmerman of Plano; great-grandsons, Corbin Byron Moody of Grapevine, Nathan Holcombe of North Richland Hills and Nicholas Robert Holcombe of North Richland Hills; great-granddaughter, Taylor Diane Gallegos of North Richland Hills; sister, Helen Gay Ethridge and husband, Rev. Bill of San Antonio and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Local veteran and military
advocate Bill Moody dies


Waco Tribune-Herald
Thursday, June 15, 2006

By Emily Ingram
Tribune-Herald staff writer

Retired Navy Cmdr. Bill Moody, a World War II veteran, Vietnam chaplain and Silver Star recipient who became a local military advocate, was found dead in his Hewitt home Tuesday morning. He was 80.

Throughout his life as a local pastor, Veterans of Foreign Wars chaplain and Good Soldier Foundation president, Moody kept fellow soldiers the focus of his work, his son said.

"He wanted to be with his guys, and he did that until the day he died," Alan Moody, 51, said.

The Laurel, Miss., native drove to Fort Hood twice a week to offer personal encouragement to soldiers stationed there. He also created a foundation to show positive leaders in the Central Texas armed forces, his son said.

The son of a milling factory worker and a nurse, Moody enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1943 at age 18.

A private during World War II, Moody fought in battles on Iwo Jima, Saipan, Guam, Okinawa and in North China during his three years in the Pacific theater.

"He was a mud Marine," Alan Moody said. "He was a Private Nobody."

Moody came home from the war in 1946 and earned degrees from Baylor University and the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, marrying his college sweetheart, Bobbie, along the way.

He pastored rural churches in Central Texas until the Vietnam War, when he signed up as a chaplain for the Navy, Alan Moody said,

"He signed up to be a Navy chaplain for the Marines," said Mike O'Bric, a friend and member of the McLennan County Veterans Association.

Moody served two tours of duty with the Marine Corps in Vietnam's combat zones, earning a Silver Star, one of the highest military distinctions for distinguished service, O'Bric said.

"He put his life in jeopardy constantly over those 13 months," O'Bric said. "He was providing religious services eight times a day, seven days per week for 13 months."

Moody served another three tours in South Vietnam during the war. He retired with the rank of commander in the chaplain corps after serving 26 years, O'Bric said.

Moody's time in Vietnam left him with long-term effects from Agent Orange exposure. Moody's daughter, Robyne, said her father contracted several diseases attributed to the powerful herbicide used to expose Viet Cong hiding places during the war. One of the diseases, peripheral neuropathy, caused Moody to eventually lose much of the use of his legs, arms and shoulders.

"His arms and legs were going out, but he had the heart of a 20-year-old," Alan Moody said of his father before his death.

After receiving his Silver Star, Moody recorded memories of his Marines' good deeds during the Vietnam War in a book called The Good Soldiers, his son said.

Believing the public should be aware of more positive stories about service members, Moody started the Good Soldier Foundation in 1985, O'Bric said. The foundation has awarded community leadership honors through 56 Spirit of America medals to active-duty servicemen and veterans in Central Texas and 463 Spirit of America awards to high school students in more than 20 years.

Moody also created VFW Post 2034 while serving 10 years as the state chaplain for the Department of Texas VFW. He left that post in 2001 to serve a year as chaplain for the national organization. He also served as associate pastor at First United Methodist Church in Waco for several years, pastor Steve Ramsdell said.

Until his death, Moody focused on ways to help fellow veterans and keep honoring good soldiers through his foundation.

O'Bric said the last time he spoke with Moody was Friday, when Moody selected the board of directors for the Good Soldier Foundation.

Last week, Moody also approached Ramsdell about setting up a foundation for soldiers and families affected by Agent Orange.

"He had big-faith dreams always," Ramsdell said. "Every person mattered to him. . . . The way God measures, he was a great man."

O'Bric said veterans measured Moody in the same way.

"In simple language, he was one of the good guys," O'Bric said. "And to the veterans, that means a lot."