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Last remaining WWII Medal of Honor recipient dies at 98
CBS NEWS ^ | June 29, 2022 | CBS

Posted on 07/04/2022 10:43:46 AM PDT by Morgana

Hershel W. "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. He was 98.

Williams' foundation announced on Twitter and Facebook that he died at the Veterans Affairs medical center bearing his name in Huntington.

"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," U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement. "I hope every American will pause to reflect on his service and that of an entire generation that sacrificed so much to defend the cause of freedom and democracy."

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 during a 2018 Boy Scouts recognition ceremony in Fairmont, according to the Times West Virginian.

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.

(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...


TOPICS: Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: 1moretime; deadagain; didyousearch; godsgravesglyphs; hershelwoodywilliams; hershelwwilliams; huntington; iwojima; medalofhonor; searchworks; veteran; westvirginia; woodywilliams; worldwareleven; wwii
I just learned of this this morning. He was a native of West Virginia.
1 posted on 07/04/2022 10:43:47 AM PDT by Morgana
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To: Morgana

And our witch in the House would not allow him to be laid out in the building. Shows the utter contempt these morons have for our military. Shame on them.


2 posted on 07/04/2022 10:52:17 AM PDT by laweeks
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To: Morgana

I get West Virginia TV stations and his funeral was televised, he had been a celebrity and symbol of a great America for a long time.


3 posted on 07/04/2022 10:55:22 AM PDT by Doctor Congo (There is trouble in the garden, there's unrest among the vegs)
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To: Morgana

More commentary here:

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4075101/posts

RIP sir.


4 posted on 07/04/2022 10:55:53 AM PDT by rktman (Destroy America from within? Check! WTH? Enlisted USN 1967 to end up with this? 😕)
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To: laweeks
And our witch in the House would not allow him to be laid out in the building.

I didn't need to know this. We are supposed to love our enemies but after a while . . . it gets old. May God repay each according to their deeds.

5 posted on 07/04/2022 10:57:35 AM PDT by BipolarBob (Where is Biden leading us and what's with the hand basket?)
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To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...
Thanks Morgana.

6 posted on 07/04/2022 10:57:44 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: laweeks

There was no political profit in honoring him.


7 posted on 07/04/2022 10:59:46 AM PDT by skeeter
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A number of vids of interviews with the man.

https://www.google.com/search?q=woody+williams+iwo+youtube


8 posted on 07/04/2022 11:01:42 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: Morgana

Every time one of these heroes passes, we lose a little bit of what made this country great. The stories and deeds they take with them are loss to every generation that follows.


9 posted on 07/04/2022 11:01:58 AM PDT by voicereason (The RNC is like the "one-night stand" you wish you could forget.)
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To: Morgana

He is going to lie in state at the US Capitol at a later date ...


10 posted on 07/04/2022 11:18:07 AM PDT by Lmo56 (If y ...a wanna run with the big dawgs - ya gotta learn to piss in the tall grass ...)
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To: skeeter
There was no political profit in honoring him.

True. If only he had declared himself nonbinary. Then he would have received a expensive military funeral, promoted on all of social media, and celebrated by politicians and celebrities.

11 posted on 07/04/2022 11:25:51 AM PDT by Angelino97
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To: Morgana

12 posted on 07/04/2022 11:30:02 AM PDT by Seruzawa ("The Political left is the Garden of Eden of incompetence" - Marx the Smarter (Groucho))
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To: voicereason
One still alive . . TELLING us . . . what we are . . .
13 posted on 07/04/2022 11:33:19 AM PDT by knarf
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To: Angelino97

If only he had once been insulted by Donald Trump


14 posted on 07/04/2022 11:33:33 AM PDT by skeeter
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To: knarf

That is a heartbreaking video. I needed a kleenex.


15 posted on 07/04/2022 11:39:11 AM PDT by laplata (They want each crisis to take the greatest toll possible.)
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To: laplata
It MUST be passed around, the clip is on youtube (for now)

There isn't a soldier, sailor, or marine alive that is not pissed off and we struggle with taking up arms against our nation.

We struggle, I tell ya'

16 posted on 07/04/2022 11:49:07 AM PDT by knarf
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To: knarf

You have mail.


17 posted on 07/04/2022 3:20:02 PM PDT by laplata (They want each crisis to take the greatest toll possible.)
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