Hershel Williams, last Medal of Honor recipient from WWII, dies at 98
Source: Washington Post
Obituaries
Hershel Williams, last Medal of Honor recipient from WWII, dies at 98
By Emily Langer
June 29, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. EDT
Hershel W. Woody Williams, a Marine Corps veteran of the Battle of Iwo Jima who was the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, died June 29 at a hospital in Huntington, W.Va. He was 98. ... His death was announced by the Woody Williams Foundation, a nonprofit organization that serves Gold Star military families, and by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. The cause was not immediately available.
Mr. Williams, who grew up on a West Virginia dairy farm, was a 21-year-old Marine corporal when he carried out the assault on the Japanese at Iwo Jima for which he received the nations highest military award for valor.
A farm boy became a fearsome warrior at Iwo Jima. And he did it with a flamethrower.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/02/18/farm-boy-became-fearsome-warrior-iwo-jima-he-did-it-with-flamethrower/
He found himself on the volcanic island in the first days of the U.S. invasion that began on Feb. 19, 1945. ... One of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history, Iwo Jima is seared in American memory as the site of the flag-raising at Mount Suribachi on Feb. 23, 1945. The moment was captured in a Pulitzer Prize-winning image by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal and commemorated in the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Va.
{snip}
President Harry S. Truman awarded Mr. Williams the Medal of Honor in 1945. (Rich-Joseph Facun for The Washington Post)
{snip}
By Emily Langer
Emily Langer is a reporter on The Washington Posts obituaries desk. She writes about extraordinary lives in national and international affairs, science and the arts, sports, culture, and beyond. She previously worked for the Outlook and Local Living sections. Twitter https://twitter.com/emilylangerWP
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/06/29/hershel-williams-wwii-medal-honor-dead/
Hershel Williams, last living Medal of Honor recipient of World War II, dies at 98
washingtonpost.com
Hershel Williams, last living Medal of Honor recipient of World War II, dies at 98
He received the nations highest military award for valor for his actions at the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945.
Link to tweet
Leghorn21
(13,524 posts)My late father was also there - he called it "Bloody Iwo" - unimaginable carnage
CentralMass
(15,265 posts)May they .RIP. if is and end of an era.
3Hotdogs
(12,360 posts)Taking marines from the transport ship to the shores of Iwo. If you saw the Clint Eastwood film about Iwo Jima, you saw those boats heading towards shore. The splashes on the water, were the Japanese shells trying to sink those boats.
Piratedog
(256 posts)sarisataka
(18,554 posts)Be at peace
sarge43
(28,941 posts)El Supremo
(20,365 posts)The first Marine. His was posthumous.
iluvtennis
(19,843 posts)keithbvadu2
(36,724 posts)Flamethrowers were one of the highest priority targets for the Japanese.
Very high mortality rate.
https://www.google.com/search?q=japanese+tunnels+flamethrower&biw=873&bih=470&ei=6jW9YtVfgKCq2w_poL-wAg&oq=japanese+tunnels+flame&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYADIFCCEQoAEyBQghEKABOgcIABBHELADOgUILhCRAjoFCAAQkQI6CAguELEDEIMBOgUIABCABDoICC4QgAQQsQM6CwguEIAEEMcBENEDOgUILhCABDoOCC4QgAQQsQMQxwEQowI6BAgAEEM6BAguEEM6CggAELEDEIMBEEM6CwguEIAEELEDEIMBOggIABCxAxCDAToHCAAQsQMQQzoHCC4QsQMQQzoHCC4Q1AIQQzoICAAQgAQQsQM6CwgAEIAEELEDEIMBOggIABCABBDJAzoOCC4QgAQQxwEQrwEQ1AI6BwgAEIAEEAo6CwguEIAEEMcBEK8BOgYIABAeEBY6BQgAEIYDSgQIQRgASgQIRhgAUPURWI1MYJhqaAFwAXgAgAG-AYgBuw-SAQQxNS43mAEAoAEByAEIwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz
denbot
(9,899 posts)Bravo Zulu.
Response to mahatmakanejeeves (Original post)
Name removed Message auto-removed