They Blinded a War Hero. It Changed America Forever. On February 12, 1946, Sergeant Isaac Woodard received his honorable discharge from the U.S. Army after serving in World War II. He earned a battle star for unloading ships under enemy fire in the Pacific and was promoted to sergeant for his service. Hours after his discharge, still wearing his Army uniform, Woodard boarded a Greyhound bus traveling from Augusta, Georgia, to his home in North Carolina. When he asked the white bus driver for a b