CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Hershel W. “Woody” Williams, the final remaining Medal of Honor recipient from World Battle II, died Wednesday. He was 98.
Williams’ basis introduced on Twitter and Fb that he died on the Veterans Affairs medical middle bearing his title in Huntington.
As a younger Marine corporal, Williams went forward of his unit throughout the Battle of Iwo Jima within the Pacific Ocean in February 1945 and eradicated a collection of Japanese machine gun positions.
Associated: The Final Battle for Iwo Jima Legend Woody Williams, Solely Surviving WWII Medal of Honor Recipient
Later that yr, at age 22, Williams acquired the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for navy valor, from President Harry Truman on the White Home.
“For me, receiving the Medal of Honor was really the lifesaver as a result of it pressured me to speak concerning the experiences that I had, which was a remedy that I didn’t even know I used to be doing,” Williams stated throughout a 2018 Boy Scouts recognition ceremony in Fairmont, in response to the Occasions West Virginian.
Iwo Jima was the place Marines planted the American flag on Mount Suribachi, a second captured in one of the vital iconic warfare pictures in historical past. Williams stated he noticed the flag from a distance after it went up as troops round him celebrated.
Williams’ actions in battle to clear the way in which for American tanks and infantry have been detailed on the navy’s Medal of Honor web site: He was “fast to volunteer his providers when our tanks have been maneuvering vainly to open a lane for the infantry by way of the community of bolstered concrete pillboxes, buried mines, and black volcanic sands. Williams daringly went ahead alone to aim the discount of devastating machinegun fireplace from the unyielding positions.”
Dealing with small-arms fireplace, Williams fought for 4 hours, repeatedly returning to arrange demolition expenses and acquire flamethrowers.
“His unyielding willpower and extraordinary heroism within the face of ruthless enemy resistance have been straight instrumental in neutralizing one of the vital fanatically defended Japanese robust factors encountered by his regiment and aided vitally in enabling his firm to achieve its goal,” the web site stated.
Williams remained within the Marines after the warfare, serving a complete of 20 years, earlier than working for the Veterans Administration for 33 years as a veterans service consultant.
In 2018, the Huntington VA medical middle was renamed in his honor, and the Navy commissioned a cell base sea vessel in his title in 2020. In February 2018, Williams was joined by 14 different recipients of the Medal of Honor to be honored by the NFL and the nation throughout the coin toss earlier than the Tremendous Bowl in Minneapolis.
Williams might not have gotten as a lot consideration nationally as Air Drive Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager, the flamboyant World Battle II fighter pilot ace and West Virginia native who turned the primary individual to fly quicker than sound in 1947. Yeager died in December 2020. But in his residence state, Williams was a family title.
“Woody Williams will go down in historical past as one of many biggest West Virginians who ever lived, and we salute him for every little thing he gave to our state and our nation,” Gov. Jim Justice stated in an announcement.
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin stated Williams “was the embodiment of a real American hero. People like Woody answered the decision to serve our nice nation and their sacrifices permit us to benefit from the freedoms we maintain pricey.”
Williams was born the youngest of a household of 11 on a dairy farm on Oct. 2, 1923, within the Harrison County group of Quiet Dell. Previous to becoming a member of the navy, he served within the Civilian Conservation Corps and labored as a teenage taxi driver in Fairmont, generally delivering Western Union telegrams to the households of fallen troopers.
It was that keenness that later led Williams and his Louisville, Kentucky-based nonprofit basis to boost cash and set up greater than 100 Gold Star Households Memorial Monuments in recognition of relations of misplaced service members throughout the US, in response to his web site.
When requested his motivation for the inspiration, Williams adopted the motto: “The trigger is larger than I.”
“Woody’s household wish to categorical their honest gratitude for all the love and assist,” the inspiration stated in an announcement. “They might additionally wish to share that Woody’s want is that individuals proceed to hold on his mission.”
Though his two older brothers have been serving within the Army, Williams wished to take a distinct path. He knew some Marines from his space and admired their blue uniforms at any time when they returned residence. However at 5-foot-6, Williams was rejected due to his top when he tried to affix in 1942. A yr later, the Marines allowed him in at age 19.
Williams relied on his fiancée, Ruby, to get him by way of the customarily anxious instances throughout the warfare, saying he needed to get again to the lady in Fairmont that he was going to marry.
Their marriage lasted 62 years. Ruby Williams died in 2007 at age 83. The couple had two daughters and 5 grandsons.
Funeral preparations weren’t instantly introduced.
© Copyright 2022 Related Press. All rights reserved. This materials will not be printed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
