WASHINGTON, D.C. — Already famous for battlefield heroism in Afghanistan, a Port Angeles native who was awarded the Navy Cross now also has been recognized as an “Everyday Hero” for his volunteer efforts while off duty and for the life-saving training he provides to the newest Marines.
Staff Sgt. Cliff Wooldridge, 24, received the Marine Corps Times’ 2014 Marine of the Year award in a ceremony Thursday afternoon at the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill.
“He has spent countless hours assisting disabled and recovering veterans with the Wounded Warrior Project,” the Marine Corps Times wrote in its announcement of how Wooldridge was selected for the award.
“Most recently, he was the host Marine for the Special Olympics of Virginia Beach [in Virginia] and served as an athlete sponsor,” the publication continued.
“He helped a terminally ill young man receive recognition as an honorary Marine,” it said.
In 2012, Wooldridge was awarded the Navy Cross, the second highest award for bravery in action behind the Medal of Honor, for his actions in Afghanistan in 2010.
While assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, Wooldridge was deployed to the Helmand province, an insurgent stronghold and poppy-growing region in southern Afghanistan.
During a 17-day mission into a Taliban-held valley, he led a successful attack to thwart an enemy ambush, engaging in personal hand-to-hand combat with a Taliban insurgent and killing his opponent with the stock of a machine gun.
He was named the USO Marine of the Year in December 2012.
The Marine Corps Times’ Marine of the Year award also recognized Wooldridge for his work with Honored American Veterans Afield, which reintegrates combat veterans into society through hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities.
Wounded warriors
“I love helping out with the wounded warriors because plenty of my buddies are in the same spot,” Wooldridge told the Marine Corps Times.
Wooldridge, who has spent the past two years as an instructor, also works hard to try to keep the Marines he trains from becoming wounded themselves.
“Marines who work alongside him say he has gone above and beyond to relate his experiences to junior Marines,” the newspaper says.
“Wooldridge puts his students through intense training that it is as physically and mentally exhausting as any his regiment has to offer, all to ensure they are truly combat ready.”
Wooldridge, a 2006 graduate of Port Angeles High School, is the son of Guy Wooldridge and Tammy Gitchel-Wooldridge of Port Angeles.
The parents were flown to Washington, D.C., to see their son receive the award, where U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, a fellow Port Angeles High School graduate, read an account of Wooldridge’s contributions into the Congressional Record on Thursday.
Volunteerism, bravery
“He was selected as the Marine Corps Times’ Marine of the Year for his volunteerism and bravery in combat,” Kilmer said.
Kilmer noted that some of Wooldridge’s skills and attitudes were formed even before he joined the Marine Corps.
“Staff Sgt. Wooldridge’s outdoor skills were honed in his hometown of Port Angeles in Washington state, the place where I, too, was born and raised,” Kilmer said.
“There, he experienced the beautiful and plentiful natural resources found only on the Olympic Peninsula.”
Wooldridge is currently assigned to the 50-member Marine Corps’ Fleet Antiterrorism Security Teams as a platoon sergeant for 5th Platoon, Bravo Company, out of Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, Va.
Gannett Government Media Corp. publishes four military-themed weekly newspapers: the Army Times, Navy Times, Marine Corps Times and Air Force Times.
The newspaper awards recognize one member from each of the U.S. armed services, nominated by fellow service members, for going above and beyond by exemplifying selfless service in everything they do, both professionally and off duty in their communities.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
