"When a suicide bomber detonated his truck outside Forward Operating Base Marez in Iraq in 2009, it wasn't the first time that type of attack killing U.S. soldiers took place. But the bombing took a different and disturbing turn when investigators determined it was facilitated not by militants on the battlefields of Iraq but out of one man's home just north of the United States.

According to the Department of Justice, this suicide operation, which killed five U.S. soldiers and several Iraqi citizens, was orchestrated from Edmonton, Canada, by Faruq Khalil Muhammad 'Isa, a 36-year-old accused of being member of a global terrorist recruiting cell that funneled foreign fighters into Iraq."

In January of 2011 I received a call from an FBI Agent out of New York.  He proceeded to explain to me that he was calling out of respect for the family.  He did not want us to hear via the media that a man was being arrested in Canada in connection with the death of my son, SSG Gary Lee Woods Jr.  



Some Links:

 http://www.investigativeproject.org/case/508

 http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/01/24/faruq-khalil-muhammad-plea_n_6538534.html

 http://www.fbi.gov/newyork/press-releases/2011/alleged-terrorist-indicted-in-new-york-for-the-murder-of-five-american-soldiers

 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/canadian-sayfildin-tahir-sharif-extradited-to-u-s-to-face-terror-charges-1.2930365

Gary “Lee” Woods Jr was born at 1:52p.m. Sunday June, 24, 1984 at Baptist East Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, weighing in at 7 lbs 11 ozs, and 17 inches long. He had very light brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. 


Lee went to school in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. He attended Roby Elementary, Bullitt Lick Middle School, and graduated from Bullitt Central High School in 2002. Through many of his school years he participated in Bullitt County’s Gifted and Talented program ( I LEAP) and was a member of Bullitt Lick Middle and Bullitt Centrals Academic Team. He started playing trumpet in 5th grade at Roby, went to Baritone in Middle School, and moved on to Trombone in High School as part of the Marching Band for 2 years. He then switched to Concert Choir for his final two years. He was very musically talented. He taught his self how to play the piano at the age of 6. He took his guitar with him on 2 of tours to Iraq and would often play to “entertain” the guys.  He also played the drums, he bought a drum set while he was on his second deployment.  He was so proud of those drums.  His first concert, he was 2 weeks old, was a weekend festival called Quantrell's Music Fest, named after the civil war bandit. Jerry Lee Lewis was the headliner and Vern Gosdin, who remembered Lee a year later at another concert.  As an infant, he also got to meet such stars as Bill Monroe & Shelly West, O.B. MClinton, Jeanie C Riley, & Donna Fargo.
Lee was a HUGE fan of the Indianapolis Colts.  He watched every game he could get out in Colorado and LOVED it when he got to watch them on his deployments.  His last Christmas was a "Colts Christmas".  He was in Iraq and there was not much to send him in the way of gifts so he got everything Colts - a long sleeve t-shirt, pajama pants, a winter hat, a coffee mug, a Sports Illistrated Colts edition, a Colts Christmas Stocking with blue and white M&Ms, and Colts Candy Candy Canes.  He said it all was GREAT and made him wish he was home!



 Lee entered Basic Training February of 2003 at Fort Knox Kentucky and graduated as a 19k Tanker in June of ‘03. He was sent to Fort Carson Colorado for his duty station where he joined the 3rd ACR. He left for his first tour in Iraq in August of ‘03 and returned in March of ‘04. His second tour to Iraq was in March of ‘05. When he returned to Fort Carson his unit was being sent to Fort Hood Texas but he wanted to remain at Fort Carson so he switched to 1/67 Armored Regiment 2-4 Infantry Division. He was deployed on September 5th of 2008. He received his promotion to Staff Sgt December 25th, 2008. In January of 2009 his very good friend and fellow soldier, Darrell Hernandez was killed in a non-combat accident and Lee escorted his friend home in February. Soon after returning from this, he volunteered for a mission that would take his own life and the lives of 4 other US Soldiers. Shortly after leaving the gates of the FOB Marez the convoy was approached by a speeding dump truck that weaved in out of the convoy of 5 US vehicles. Lee was the driver of the 5th vehicle. As he watched the movements of this dump truck he was able to move his vehicle into position for his gunner to fire upon and kill the driver of the dump truck. As the truck rolled to a stop, the vehicle which Lee was driving went behind the dump truck and 10,000 pounds of explosives were somehow detonated killing all 5 men.