The last surviving World War II medal of honor recipient has died at age 98. At 3:15 a.m. this morning Woody peacefully passed away while surrounded by his family.
The staff of Navarre Newspaper covered Woody when he visited Navarre in December, 2019. We have covered many events over the past 19 years and interviewed so many memorable people but Woody was a very special individual. We offer our condolences to his family and proudly share our story of his visit here below.
Stripes Pub & Grill in Navarre on Friday, December 20 hosted the organizers of the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument along with special guest speaker Hershel “Woody” Williams, a 96 year old WWII USMC Veteran who is also the recipient of an Iwo Jima Medal of Honor and a Purple Heart.
Navarre Newspaper would like to thank the organizers and a special thank you to Robert Reyes for bringing this event to Navarre. It was a remarkable evening , standing room only crowd .
The Hershel Woody Williams Medal of Honor Foundation’s goal in the beginning was to establish a Gold Star Families Memorial Monument in Woody’s home state of West Virginia. However, after that monument was complete, a new mission emerged – to build such monuments in as many communities as possible.
Williams’ Foundation to date has dedicated 59 memorial monuments, and 62 additional ones are in progress.
Currently there is an effort underway to raise $60,000 for a monument planned for Veteran’s Memorial Park in Pensacola, located at 200 South 10th Avenue. A groundbreaking took place on May 30, 2019.
The finished granite monument will stand 15-feet wide and 7-feet high and be dedicated to the families of servicemen and women who sacrificed their lives while serving in the military.
To learn more about donating to the local Gold Star Family Memorial, contact Ashley Lukasiewicz via [email protected] or (804) 513-2154.
Medal of Honor citation of Corporal Hershel Woodrow Wilson: “For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Demolition Sergeant serving with with the Twenty-first Marines, THIRD Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 23 February 1945. Quick to volunteer his services when our tanks were maneuvering vainly to open a lane for the infantry through the network of reinforced concrete pillboxes, buried mines and black, volcanic sands, Corporal Williams daringly went forward alone to attempt the reduction of devastating machine-gun fire from the unyielding positions. Covered only by four riflemen, he fought desperately for 4 hours under terrific enemy small-arms fire and repeatedly returned to his own lines to prepare demolition charges and obtain serviced flame throwers, struggling back, frequently to the rear of hostile emplacements, to wipe out one position after another. On one occasion, he daringly mounted a pillbox to insert the nozzle of his flame-thrower through the air vent, killing the occupants and silencing the gun; on another he grimly charged enemy riflemen who attempted to stop him with bayonets and destroyed them with a burst of flame from his weapon. His unyielding determination and extraordinary heroism in the face of ruthless enemy resistance were directly instrumental in neutralizing one of the most fanatically defended Japanese strong points encountered by his regiment and aided vitally in enabling his company to reach its objective. Corporal Williams’s (sic) aggressive fighting spirit and valiant devotion to duty throughout this fiercely contested action sustain and enhance the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”
