Hershel 'Woody' Williams Autograph
Hershel Woodrow ‘Woody’ Williams was born on October 2,1923 in Fairmont, WV. As a youth, he had a number of odd jobs including driving a truck and being a taxi driver. As a young man, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), but when the United States entered the war, he felt compelled to join the military. He asked for and was granted a release from the CCC and joined the Marines on May 26, 1943 in Charleston, WV. He went to San Francisco, California for his military training, where he was initially assigned to a tank training battalion. After about a month, though, he was transferred to the infantry and assigned demolition duties, where he was taught how to use a flamethrower.
After training he was deployed to the Pacific Theater to fight the Japanese forces. He was first sent to Guadalcanal, where he was attached to the 1st Battalion, 21st Marines. He participated in action on Guam, and then in February 21, 1945, he was landed on Iwo Jima, where his actions earned him the Medal of Honor. He had been on Iwo Jima only two days when American tanks, attempting to open a lane for the infantry, were brought to a standstill when they encountered a network of reinforced concrete pillboxes the Japanese used as machine gun nests. Williams, a corporal, was tasked with attempting to use his flamethrower to take out the pillboxes. Some accounts by people present say that when he was asked to take on the task, Williams simply replied “I’ll try”. Four riflemen were assigned to help provide him some cover fire, but two of these soldiers were killed early in the effort. Over the course of four hours, Williams worked his way through intense enemy firing and took out a total of seven of the machine gun emplacements. According to his recounting of his actions, he stated that he noticed smoke from their weapons coming from the top of the pillboxes and realized there was a vent in the top. He would work his way around the back of the pillboxes and get on top, where he would stick the nozzle of his flamethrower in the vent opening and thus kill the enemy soldiers inside. At one point, the Japanese in one of the pillboxes realized what he doing and came out to attack him with small arms and bayonets, but Williams was quicker to respond and killed them with a burst of flame from his weapon.
I had the privilege of being able to meet Mr. Williams when he visited my Middle School to give a speech. The one main thing I remember from that day is that he said, “I don`t wear this metal for my actions but for all those who died for the cause of freedom”. After his speech, I was able to arrange to be introduced to Mr. Williams. It turned out that he is a fellow member of the Sons of the American Revolution, and he was gracious enough to provide me his autograph and for me to have my photograph made with him.
After training he was deployed to the Pacific Theater to fight the Japanese forces. He was first sent to Guadalcanal, where he was attached to the 1st Battalion, 21st Marines. He participated in action on Guam, and then in February 21, 1945, he was landed on Iwo Jima, where his actions earned him the Medal of Honor. He had been on Iwo Jima only two days when American tanks, attempting to open a lane for the infantry, were brought to a standstill when they encountered a network of reinforced concrete pillboxes the Japanese used as machine gun nests. Williams, a corporal, was tasked with attempting to use his flamethrower to take out the pillboxes. Some accounts by people present say that when he was asked to take on the task, Williams simply replied “I’ll try”. Four riflemen were assigned to help provide him some cover fire, but two of these soldiers were killed early in the effort. Over the course of four hours, Williams worked his way through intense enemy firing and took out a total of seven of the machine gun emplacements. According to his recounting of his actions, he stated that he noticed smoke from their weapons coming from the top of the pillboxes and realized there was a vent in the top. He would work his way around the back of the pillboxes and get on top, where he would stick the nozzle of his flamethrower in the vent opening and thus kill the enemy soldiers inside. At one point, the Japanese in one of the pillboxes realized what he doing and came out to attack him with small arms and bayonets, but Williams was quicker to respond and killed them with a burst of flame from his weapon.
I had the privilege of being able to meet Mr. Williams when he visited my Middle School to give a speech. The one main thing I remember from that day is that he said, “I don`t wear this metal for my actions but for all those who died for the cause of freedom”. After his speech, I was able to arrange to be introduced to Mr. Williams. It turned out that he is a fellow member of the Sons of the American Revolution, and he was gracious enough to provide me his autograph and for me to have my photograph made with him.
