Major Mortimer H. Christian at VMI
On Monday, November 20, 1944, official executioner Major Mortimer H. Christian hanged U.S. Army Private Theron W. McGann at St. Lo, Manche, France for the crime of rape. (The Fifth Field: The Story of the 96 American Soldiers Sentenced to Death and Executed in Europe and North Africa in World War II)
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Master Sergeant John C Woods, US Army Hangman
On November 20, 1946, John Woods’ hometown paper the Wichita Beacon published an article under the title, “Nuernberg Hangman Proud of Executions.” The article began:
“‘GI’ John C. Woods, the roly-poly hangman from Nuernberg arrived from Europe yesterday and immediately announced he was not going out of business.”
The article quoted Woods as saying that he began his hanging career in Texas as an assistant hangman when he was eighteen years old and served for the first time as the primary hangman when he was twenty-one. The report also referred to him as: “The Army’s No. 1 Rope Artist.” (American Hangman: MSgt. John C. Woods: The United States Army’s Notorious Executioner in World War II and Nürnberg)