John I. Wood is a retired US Army Colonel and lives with his wife Randi in North Carolina. A native Georgian, he received his commission from the University of Georgia ROTC program in 1968 and was awarded a BA in Journalism. He commanded at company, battalion, and brigade level, specializing in human resource management. John served in several locations in the United States including Indiana, California, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC as well as Vietnam, Korea, and Germany. He served as an aide de camp to General of the Army Omar N. Bradley who then the last surviving five star officer. He completed his active service as a faculty member of the US Army War College. During his career he was awarded three awards of the Legion of Merit, The Bronze Star, The Joint Service Commendation Medal and the Army Commendation Medal. He also earned MA degrees in Public Administration and in Religious Studies. Following retirement from the Army, John and Randi served as missionaries in the Anglican Diocese of Egypt and have traveled extensively in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. They are active in their local Anglican parish church. He enjoys nurturing various flowers in his yard. Scattered Blossoms is John’s first novel, a story inspired by his visit to Nikko, Japan during Cherry Blossom time and his love of military history. John is currently writing his second novel The Heidelberg Tribunal.Read more about this authorRead less about this author