You've seen the photograph of the flag over Iwo Jima. But just beyond the frame, Hershel "Woody" Williams was carrying out one of the most astonishing acts of heroism of the Second World War.
On February 23, 1945, six U.S. Marines raised the American flag atop Mount Suribachi in a moment captured on camera that became synonymous with the Marine Corps. One thousand yards away, demolition sergeant Hershel “Woody” Williams was a one-man fighting machine, destroying one Japanese pillbox after another in frenzy of combat that was so extraordinary, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Williams, born on a West Virginia dairy farm in 1923, enlisted in the Marine Corps in May 1943 and fought at Guam in 1944 with the 21st Marines before they took part in the Battle of Iwo Jima. As American tanks tried to open a path from the beach through a dense network of Japanese concrete pillboxes, Williams volunteered to go forward with his flamethrower, the most effective weapon to neutralize the reinforced pillboxes and their devastating machine gun fire. For four hours, Williams fought to silence the Japanese positions, covered only by four riflemen.
Williams running with a flamethrower.
He returned five times to his own lines for fresh flamethrowers and demolition charges before charging forward again. He mounted one pillbox, stuck the nozzle of his flamethrower through the air vent and blasted the occupants with a fatal burst of fire. In another desperate episode, enemy infantrymen charged him in a bayonet attack, but he managed to destroy them with his flamethrower. The combat was so fierce, Williams has no memory of much of it. But his courageous and selfless actions helped clear the way for the Marines to advance.
“We, as a country, can’t forget. We should never forget what their sacrifices have made possible.”
Williams remained on Iwo Jima throughout the five-week battle and was wounded by shrapnel on March 5. He returned to the United States on September 5 and was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry S Truman on October 5, 1945, at the White House.
He served for many years in the Marine Corps Reserve and in 2010 helped found the non-profit Woody Williams Foundation to honor, recognize and serve Gold Star families and the legacy of their fallen loved ones.
In March 2020, Williams attended the commissioning of the USS Hershel “Woody” Williams Expeditionary Sea Base vessel in Norfolk, Virginia. Before his passing on June 29, 2022, he was the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from World War II.
Medal of Honor Recipient Hershel "Woody" Williams | William Hereford
“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as demolition sergeant serving with the 21st Marines, 3d 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, Cpl. 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 four hours under terrific enemy small-arms fire and repeatedly returned to his own lines to prepare demolition charges and obtain serviced flamethrowers, 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 flamethrower 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 strongpoints encountered by his regiment and aided vitally in enabling his company to reach its objective. Cpl. Williams' aggressive fighting spirit and valiant devotion to duty throughout this fiercely contested action sustain and enhance the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.”
MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION