WWII Medal of Honor recipient dead at 98

Jun. 29—SPRING VALLEY — Hershel "Woody" Williams — the last living Medal of Honor recipient from the Second World War — passed away Wednesday at the age of 98 at the VA Hospital that bears his name outside of Huntington.

Born on Oct. 2, 1923, in Quiet Dell, West Virginia, Williams grew up on a farm just a stones throw away from the city of Clarksburg. After working odd jobs as a young man, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, where he was working on a project when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

Williams joined up with the Marine Corps in 1943, after the service lowered the height requirements — Williams had been rejected once before.

On Feb. 19, 1945, the U.S. Marines landed on little island south of the Japanese mainland called Iwo Jima. A mere blip on the map would become synonymous with the courage and sacrifice of American servicemen throughout history.

With 21,000 Japanese soldiers hunkered down in a series of tunnels and bunkers, the Marines quickly found themselves stymied on the benches, where the volcanic sand made it all but impossible for the tanks to gain traction to knock out the fortifications.

Five days into the battle, Williams was the last man standing in a six-member demolition crew, wherein he wielded a flamethrower. A company commander asked if he could use the flamethrower to knock out some pillboxes — a small, partly underground concrete fort in war — to which Williams said he'd give it a shot.

For four hours, with four riflemen giving him cover fire, Williams sprinted across toward the pillboxes under heavy machine gun fire, using demolition charges and his 75-pound flamethrower to destroy them.

At one point, Williams jumped on top of a pillbox, shoved his nozzle inside and burned the enemy soldiers inside. At another point, he single-handedly took out several Japanese soldiers charging him with bayonets with the single burst of a flame.

All told, Williams destroyed seven Japanese pillboxes, saving many men that would've been lost had there been a direct charge ordered.

Williams would fight a total of 34 out of 36 days on the island, one of the toughest battles in American history.

He received two Purple Hearts for his wounds — he was later sent to Guam for training for an invasion of the mainland that never transpired, thanks to a Little Boy and a Fat Man.

On Oct. 5, 1945, at the age of 22, Williams was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman. Twelve days later, he married his wife, Ruby, and they enjoyed marriage for 63 years until she passed in 2007.

Williams would serve 20 years in the Marines and the Marines Corps Reserve. He worked 33 years as a Veterans Service Representative and as the Commandant of the Veterans Nursing Home in Barboursville for 10 years.

Despite Williams making it out alive, he carried with him a guilt of the young men lost in the war, who returned home in pine boxes. He found comfort in the Methodist Church upon returning home.

The Woody Williams Foundation, a non-profit group, was founded by Williams to support Gold Star Families. Active in all 50 states, 103 Gold Star Memorials have been installed throughout the country, and 77 are currently under construction.

Locally, flags will be flown at half-mast by orders of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice once a funeral date has been announced.

In Ashland, the city lowered flags to half-staff until interment.