By Tim Gardner
A book about the military and medical career as well as the personal life of part-time North Carolina High Country resident James (Jim) Wood, has been released.
Throughout The Life and Times of James (Jim) Wood, he shares his professional and personal memoirs about his experiences that have made him a national military hero, an internationally acclaimed medical doctor, a model family man, and a longtime contributor in various capacities to many community, civic, government, religious mission, and other worthwhile causes across the world, including in the High Country.
The book, which was written by High Country Press journalist Tim Gardner, has been called a fascinating read and a must-have book for anyone with ties to Wood, who has an interest in the military, the medical profession, or who just enjoys a good book.
Wood’s love for the United States of America, our military, his work as a physician, his family, colleagues, friends, and needy people is reflected in the book. There is a multitude of reminiscing by Wood about those and various other topics, happenings, and people with whom he has been associated throughout his life that is rich, thorough, and inspiring.
Truly, Wood, who lives in Johnson City, Tennessee, and also has a part-time home at Grandfather Mountain Golf and Country Club in Linville, has lived an interesting and highly-accomplished life as the following biographical details in which the book focuses, attest:
*High School graduate of The Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he served as the official bugler.
*University of Tennessee at Chattanooga graduate (earned Bachelor of Science degree).
*University of Tennessee School of Medicine graduate (earned Medical Doctor’s degree).
*After graduating from the University of Tennessee School of Medicine, he became licensed to practice medicine in the States of Tennessee and Mississippi.
*Next graduated from three-month training at the School of Aerospace Medicine in San Antonio, Texas.
*Captain, Flight Surgeon, United States Air Force. He served in the 12th (Twelfth) Air Force during The Vietnam Conflict (War). First stationed at the James Connally Air Force Base Headquarters in Waco, Texas from October 1967 to June 1968. The 12th Air Force was placed under Tactical Air Command while stationing its organizational headquarters at James Connally Air Force Base (AFB).
*Also stationed in three more military sites: the Belgian Congo or Zaire (Also known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo or Congo-Kinshasa), Africa Joint Task Force, Strike Command from November to December 1967 and U-Tapao, Thailand from July 1968 to June 1969. He was also relocated and stationed for six weeks at the United States Embassy in India during his tenure in Thailand.
*In between his stints serving in the Belgian Congo Joint Task Force and in Thailand, or during the eight months from December 1967 to July 1968, he was also sent back to work from the 12th (Twelfth) Air Force Base Headquarters in Waco.
*Was the on-call military emergency physician for former United States President Lyndon Johnson when President Johnson and his entourage flew to the Austin, Texas region, where Johnson and his wife, Claudia (Lady Bird) were both from.
*Served as a general Medical Doctor (M.D.), Surgeon, and Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist at various hospitals including those in Memphis, Johnson City, and Elizabethton, Tennessee as well as at the Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital at Mountain Home in Johnson City.
*Co-founder of the Johnson City Ear, Nose, and Throat Clinic, the Johnson City Eye and Ear Hospital, and the Watauga Hearing Conservation in Johnson City.
*Served on the Board of Directors at Lees-McRae College, the Grandfather Home for Children, and the Holston Presbytery Camp and Retreat Center, all in Banner Elk.
*Served on the Board of Directors at Ashbury Place Kingsport (Baysmont) Retirement Center of Kingsport, Tennessee.
*Served as a Johnson City Housing Authority and Planning Board Commissioner.
*Has done mission work with his wife, Ann, in Honduras, and fellow members from their church–First Presbyterian Church of Johnson City.
*Father of four children: three daughters- Helen, Patty, and Wendy; and one son, James, Jr. (deceased). Has numerous other family members.
*Has traveled to more than two dozen foreign countries.
The Life and Times of James (Jim) Wood book contains 206 pages, is printed in paperback version, and includes dozens of pictures as well as a list of links to many of his other pictures that readers can type on an Internet address bar, press “Enter,” and access. The book is published by BookBaby of Pennsauken, New Jersey under the direction of company publishing specialist Sierra Edwards. The book’s design and layout were done by Beth Shanklin of the Professional Printers Company, based in Columbia, South Carolina, and overseen by Project Director Melissa Yount.
The foreword of The Life and Times of James (Jim) Wood was supplied by Jesse Pope, President and Executive Director of the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, a close friend to Wood. Book back cover liner notes were also provided by former United States Congressman (State of Tennessee’s First Congressional District), Johnson City Commission member, Vice-Mayor, and Mayor Phil Roe, who also has a part-time home in the North Carolina High Country and attended medical school with Wood, Avery County Commissioner Martha Jaynes Hicks of the Heaton Community, Human Resources Consultant and Trainer Ann Wilson Castro of Bakersville, and United States Army Veteran and current Federal Government employee and Wood’s nephew, Meriwether Anderson Sale.
The Life and Times of James (Jim) Wood book costs $35.00 per copy and can be purchased by phoning Wood at (423) 431-8023 or Gardner at (828) 387-7347. It can also be obtained online at amazon.com. For mail orders, contact either Wood or Gardner for prices that include postage or shipping. Wood can also be scheduled for book signings by calling him.
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