Remembering Isaac Woodard: Police Brutality, Harry Truman and the Maiming of a Black War Veteran

Isaac Woodard, Jr. was born on March 18th, 1919. He served his country proudly in World War II but is remembered for the tragic wounds he suffered as a victim of racism and police brutality after the war. The events surrounding his maiming, especially the police involvement, ignited an outcry for justice which – in the eyes of many – never came.

Early Life

Isaac Woodard was born in Fairfield County, South Carolina, a rural area near what is now Columbia. He came of age in Goldsboro, North Carolina attending an underfunded segregated school for African Americans during the Jim Crow era of the south.

Eventually, at the age of 23, Isaac enlisted in the United States Army and became one of approximately one million African Americans who served as draftees or volunteers during World War II. As a soldier, he reached the rank of sergeant following his valiant efforts in the Pacific Theater.

During his military career Woodard received several medals earned through dedication and hard-work. These included the Good Conduct Medal, Service Medal, World War II Victory Medal, as well as a Service Star which is also known as a Battle Star. The Battle Star was awarded because of the courage he displayed in New Guinea where he courageously continued to do his job and unload battle ships despite the heavy enemy fire.

Disaster Strikes!

In 1946, after World War War II ended, Isaac Woodard was discharged honorably from the U.S. Army at Camp Gordon (Georgia). The events that took place on his way home to be with his family after being discharged from the military is what we remember the most about the life of Isaac woodard.

Just two days before Valentine’s Day of 1946, Isaac became a victim of police brutality. It started when Woodard requested to use the bathroom at a rest stop outside of Augusta, Georgia. After a brief argument, that some say erupted due to the bus driver belittling Isaac, he was allowed to use the restroom. Even though no further incidents or arguments occurred on the bus, the driver contacted the police after reaching the next stop in Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina.
Lynwood Shull, the Chief of Police, and his officers removed Woodard from the bus and began harassing him as they requested to review his military discharge papers. After which they allegedly took him to a dark alley and began to physically assault him with their nightsticks. Although there were no signs or proof of any illegal activity from Isaac, they jailed him on grounds of disorderly conduct and alleged that he was drinking alcohol on the back of the bus with other soldiers. Additional beatings allegedly occurred while Isaac Woodard was in jail and the incident left him permanently blind.
Black and White Justice

Isaac Woodard and His Mother

Woodard, who lost consciousness during the course of the beatings – even developing amnesia at some point – said, in his court testimony, that he was punched in his eyes multiple times by the police by their hands and they billy clubs as they were taking him to jail. Newspapers supported this account and documented the severity of the trauma to his eyes. It was as if they had been gouged and were now damaged beyond repair.

National Reaction

The maiming of Isaac Woodard, a uniformed war veteran, was languishing in obscurity before the NAACP became involved. Their commitment to publicize the incident made the nation aware of this horrific incident. Many celebrities also became involved and brought additional attention.

On his part, Orsen Welles, filmmaker and thespian, spearheaded a movement which sought the outright sanction of Lynwood Shull and his co-conspirators. Welles did this by attacking the intolerable insensitivity of the South Carolina state government to the incident. Welles even read an affidavit he received from the NAACP and signed by Isaac Woodard on the air in 1946.

Many musicians also wrote and sang about what they perceived as a racial attack. Lord Invader for instance, directly referred to the incident in his song God Made Us All and Woody Guthrie, a renowned folk singer wrote The Blinding of Isaac Woodard in memory of the soldier.

Then Came the Government

Walter F. White and President Harry S. Truman

After Walter F. White, NAACP Executive Secretary, discussed the incident with President Harry S. Truman the US Department of Justice took up the case. Truman was outraged by the failure of South Carolina’s government to address the issue.
The investigation which followed indicted Lynwood Shull and his officers, but the sham of a trial resulted in them being found “Not Guilty” even though Shull admitted to blinding Isaac Woodard. Unfortunately, Shull was never held accountable for his actions on that night.

Federal Judge Julius Waties Waring

Even Federal Judge Julius Waties Waring was appalled by what took place during the trial. The prosecutor failed to interview anyone except for the bus driver and the defense attorney shouted racial epithets at Woodard in court. This led to the Judge writing a letter to Truman where he stated “I was shocked by the hypocrisy of my government…in submitting that disgraceful case…”

After the trial, Isaac Woodard relocated to New York where he lived until his death in 1992. He received a military burial at New York’s Calverton National Cemetery.

Impact on US Politics

Many see the acquittal of Shull as one of the biggest failures of the Truman administration. It would go on to haunt the administration throughout his reelection campaign. However, the incident led to President Truman establishing the President’s Committee on Civil Rights. This committe was charged with investigating the status of civil rights in the United States of America and proposing solutions to strengthen and protect them. Truman was convinced that the civil rights of the American citizen was of such importance that the local and state governments cannot and should not handle it alone; as evident in the case of Isaac Woodard.