A flag-draped casket honors the remains of Herschel W. "Woody" Williams in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Washington. (Hai Yunjiang/ New York Times via Associated Press , pool)
Hershel Woodrow “Woody” Williams was probably 5 feet 6 inches tall, and when he first tried to join in 1942, recruiters told him he was too short , cannot become an marine member.
It might have been that the Army would have accepted him, but Williams, a farm boy from Quiet Dell, West Virginia, thought Army uniforms were ugly. "I wanted to wear those dress blues that the Marines wore," Williams said in several interviews with Military.com in recent years.
He signed up for the Marines in the state capital of Charleston in May 1943 at the height of World War IIwhen they changed height standards. It was the beginning of a lifetime of service, including combat, 33 years with what was then the Veterans Administration, and a commitment to Gold Star families through his Woody Williams Foundation.
The nation paid tribute to his "above and beyond" courage and lifelong service Thursday as his flag-bearing casket was placed on a casket in a "memory" in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. Williams was 98 on June 29 at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Huntington, West Virginia, named in his honor.
Bearers from all branches of the military carried Williams' casket up the long staircase on the Capitol's East Front for a ceremony officiated by Rear Adm. Margaret Kibben. exist.
basically paraphrased the Navy's hymn, saying that Williams "never lost courage in his fight for rights and liberty, his honor clean, his purpose noble."
After raising his hand for the first time to take the oath, Williams was sent to places they had never heard of, back to the dairy farms of West Virginia - New Caledonia , Guadalcanal, Guam, and then a pork chop-shaped volcanic rock called Iwo Jima, where he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
There were 473 Medal of Honor recipients during World War II, including 27 on Iwo Jima alone. Williams is the last survivor.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) both said Williams' figure "He was never the tallest Marine, but he was a force of nature," Pelosi said. He later dedicated his life to "helping veterans and Gold Star families."
McConnell said the Marines' "initial skepticism" gave way to respect and admiration when it came to Williams' height. Didn't stop him." He urged those in attendance to pay tribute to a "heroic patriot" who "made giving back a lifelong mission."
In addition to members of Williams' extended family, attendees included several other Medal of Honor recipients, and retired Army Gen. and current Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. David Milley ; and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger
Ceremony for Milley. has particular resonance as his late father, Alexander Milley, served in the Navy during the Battle of Iwo Jima
Members of the Williams family attend the West Virginia panel at the World War II Memorial on the National Mall following the ceremony at the Capitol. A wreath was laid at the bottom. Funeral and burial plans for Williams at West Virginia
Frontline Flamethrower
On February 23, 1945, Williams, then a corporal in the 21st Marine Regiment, 1st. As the battalion worked, their progress across the airfield was blocked by interlocking fire from a series of reinforced concrete bunkers held by the Japanese defenders.
Williams took cover in a shell hole while the police tried to figure out what to do next.Can Williams do something about those pill boxes? "I'll try," he said.
Under cover of fire from four Marine riflemen, carrying a 70-pound M2 flamethrower on his back, he climbed forward with determination and charged toward the bunker.
His Medal of Honor citation reads: "He fought desperately for four hours under formidable small arms fire from the enemy and returned to his position several times to prepare to detonate explosives and obtain a repaired flamethrower, often fighting back Behind enemy lines, wipe out one after another."
A Navy legend in his later years, Williams was a regular at Marine Corps special events; he was last seen at Parris Island, South Carolina, in June 2021. At the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, he wore a blue tuxedo with the Medal of Honor around his neck as an honorary officer in the recruits' graduation parade.
When 350 graduates came through, Williams began to pay attention to one of the strapping kids named Cedar Rose—his great-grandson. Williams was particularly proud when told that Rose's exemplary performance in training earned him a promotion to the private first class at graduation.
With Williams at his side, Ross later told CBS News that the training instructor discovered his great-grandfather was Woody Williams mid-training. "The chief training instructor told me, 'Ross, you've got big shoes to fill,'" to which he replied, "Yes, sir. Thank God I'm a No. 15,"
Williams said of his great-grandson : "I think the only advice I would give him is to do the best he can and then a little more."
