Woody Williams, 98, will lie in honor at the US Capitol
By Newser Editors and Wire Service Jun 29, 2022
Update: At a memorial Sunday in Charleston, West Virginia, Sen. Joe Manchin said Hershel W. "Woody" Williams, the last remaining Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, would lie in state at the US Capitol. But Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer announced he would actually lie in honor. The distinction, per to the Architect of the Capitol, is that government officials and military officers lie in state while private citizens lie in honor, reports the AP. A date and other details will be forthcoming. Our original story from Wednesday, which details Williams' heroics, follows.
Woody Williams, the last remaining Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, whose heroics under fire over several crucial hours at the Battle of Iwo Jima made him a legend in his native West Virginia, died Wednesday at age 98 at the Veterans Affairs medical center bearing his name in Huntington, the AP reports. "Today, America lost not just a valiant Marine and a Medal of Honor recipient, but an important link to our Nation's fight against tyranny in the Second World War,"
As a young Marine
corporal, Williams went ahead of his unit in February 1945 and
eliminated a series of Japanese machine gun positions. Later that year,
at age 22, Williams received the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest
award for military valor, from President Harry Truman at the White
House. "For me, receiving the Medal of Honor was actually the lifesaver
because it forced me to talk about the experiences that I had, which was
a therapy that I didn't even know I was doing," Williams said in 2018.
Iwo Jima was where Marines planted the American flag on Mount Suribachi,
a moment captured in one of the most iconic war photographs in history.
Williams said he saw the flag from a distance after it went up as
troops around him celebrated............To Read More....
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