Herschel "Woody" Williams (center) poses with fellow Marines at the Charles E. Shelton Freedom Memorial on Saturday, April 6, 2019, in Owensboro, Kentucky. (Greg Eans/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP)
WASHINGTON ( AP ) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday that the last World War II Medal of Honor recipient Herschel W. "Woody" Williams will be honored at the U.S. Capitol .
Pelosi and Schumer said in a joint statement that dates and other details would be announced later.
Pelosi said: "Woody Williams embodies the best of America: living a life of duty, honor and courage." Schumer said: "Woody Williams is an American hero who embodies the best of America." Our nation's best and greatest generation."
Williams, who died Wednesday at age 98, was a legend in his home state of West Virginia for his role in the Battle of Iwo Jima. Heroic actions during a few crucial hours have come under fire. As a young Marine Corporal, Williams led his unit in February 1945 and wiped out a series of Japanese machine gun positions. Facing small arms firepower, Williams fought for four hours, returning multiple times to prepare to detonate explosives and obtain a flamethrower.
Later that year, at the age of 22, Williams received the Medal of Honor from President Harry Truman. The Medal of Honor is the nation's highest award for military valor.
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, speaking at a commemoration event in Charleston, West Virginia, on Sunday, said Williams would "never give up on giving back." This includes an annual motorcycle ride to raise funds for Gold Star Families (immediate family members of fallen service members).
"It raised hundreds of thousands of dollars," Manchin said. He joked "it won't stop because Woody will catch up to me in a heartbeat."
Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, said he would miss Williams' calls, noting that Williams always gave him instructions and to-do lists.
"I'm going to miss him telling me how I should vote. And how I made mistakes when I didn't," Manchin said.
Gen. David H. Berger, commander of the U.S. Marine Corps , said at the memorial ceremony that Williams always took issue with the idea of him accomplishing the feat alone. He always acknowledged others on his team, some of whom never made it home.
"Woody is probably the most genuine person I've ever met," Berger said, noting his unique combination of humility and humor. "He could make you laugh. He could make you care. That was his gift."
Williams remained in the Marine Corps after the war, serving a total of 20 years before spending 33 years at the Veterans Administration as a veteran Military Service Representative. In 2018, VA Huntington Medical Center was renamed in his honor, and the Navy commissioned a mobile base seaship in his honor in 2020.
"He left an indelible mark on our Marine Corps," Berger said. "As long as there are Marines, his legacy will live on."
Manchin announced during his speech that Williams would lie in the rotunda, but Pelosi and Schumer said he would lie down with honors. The difference, according to the Capitol architect who oversaw the building, is that government officials and military officers are on the state side, while private citizens are on the honors side.
