James Alonza Wood enlisted in January 1916 and served as a lieutenant with the 10th Battalion, Canadian Engineers. He received the Military Cross for leading men through the Battle of Vimy Ridge without losing a man, after the same shell that instantly killed his commanding officer wounded his arm.

Later he fought at Lens and sustained another wound, which sent him to a hospital in England to recover until the end of the war.

After the war he married Emily Irene Chestnut in Melbourne, Quebec and worked as a civil servant. He was appointed the first superintendant of Prince Albert National Park and later superintendant of Jasper National Park.

Once he retired, he moved to Ottawa, where he passed away in 1948.

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