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Woody Williams

World War II Medal of Honor recipient Hershel Woodrow “Woody” Williams (October 2, 1923-June 29, 2022) was born on a farm in Quiet Dell, the youngest of 11 children of Lloyd and Lurenna Williams. Six of his siblings had died in the 1918 influenza epidemic. He grew up in Fairmont and, at 17, dropped out of high school and joined the Civilian Conservation Corps. After his 18th birthday, Williams sought to enlist in the Marine Corps but was rejected because at five feet six inches tall, he did not meet the height requirement. In May 1943, Williams enlisted after the height requirement was changed. Assigned to the Third Marine Division, he first experienced combat against the Japanese at Guam in the summer of 1944.

In February and March 1945, Williams distinguished himself during the Battle of Iwo Jima. On February 23, carrying a flamethrower half his weight, Williams neutralized seven concrete pillboxes from which came devastating machine gun fire. Aided by four riflemen who provided cover, Williams prepared demolition charges and destroyed one position after the other in a four-hour period. He returned five times to his headquarters to get refueled flamethrowers and demolition charges. This act of heroism earned Williams the Medal of Honor. On March 6, he suffered a shrapnel wound, which earned him a Purple Heart, but he remained on Iwo Jima until the battle for the island ended March 26. On October 5, 1945, President Truman awarded Williams the Medal of Honor in a ceremony at the White House.

After his discharge in November 1945, Williams served in the Marine Corps Reserve, retiring in 1969. From 1946 to 1979, he was a counselor with the Veterans Administration, working with veterans from West Virginia. In October 1945, he married Ruby Meredith, and they had two daughters. Williams was a lay speaker for the Methodist Church and served as the national chaplain of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. For 30 years, he ran a boarding and training barn for horses in Cabell County. He also remained active, talking to church, youth, and veterans’ groups. Ruby Williams died in 2007. In 2010 he created the Woody Williams Foundation to work with Gold Star Families nationally. On January 14, 2016, the Navy named an Expeditionary Sea Base ship the USNS Hershel Woody Williams. In June 2018, the Veterans Administration hospital in Huntington was renamed the Hershel “Woody” Williams VA Medical Center. He was receiving care at the medical center when he died. Woody Williams, the last living Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, was 98 years old.

On October 2, 2023, marking the 100th anniversary of his birth, the Woody Williams Gold Star Families Memorial Monument was unveiled at Huntington’s Memorial Park, near the Memorial Arch, dedicated in 1929 to soldiers who fought in World War I .

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