FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Hershel W. Williams ~ 26 February 2018

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[Kathy in Alaska]

 

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~ Hall of Heroes ~

Hershel W. Williams

Info from here.

           

Hershel Woodrow "Woody" Williams (born October 2, 1923) is a retired United States Marine who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II.

Born in Fairmont, West Virginia, on October 2, 1923, Williams grew up on a dairy farm in nearby Quiet Dell. He worked a series of odd jobs in the area, including as a truck driver for W.S. Harr Construction Company of Fairmont and as a taxi driver. After being turned away once from the U.S. military for being too short, he successfully enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in Charleston, West Virginia, on May 26, 1943

Williams received his recruit training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California. Upon completion, he was sent to the Camp Elliott training center in San Diego, where he joined the tank training battalion on August 21, 1943. The following month he was transferred to the training center's infantry battalion for instruction as a demolition man and in the use of flamethrowers.

Williams joined the 32nd Replacement Battalion on October 30, 1943, and left for New Caledonia in the southwest Pacific on December 3 aboard the M.S. Weltey Reden. In January 1944, he joined the 3rd Marine Division at Guadalcanal. He was attached to the 1st Battalion, 21st Marines, first to Company C and then to Headquarters Company.

During July and August 1944, he participated in action against the Japanese at Guam, and in October he rejoined Company C.

His next campaign was at Iwo Jima where he distinguished himself with actions "above and beyond the call of duty" — for which he would be awarded the Medal ofHonor. Landing on February 21, 1945, Williams, by then a corporal, distinguished himself two days later when American tanks, trying to open a lane for infantry, encountered a network of reinforced concrete pillboxes, buried mines, and black volcanic sands. Williams went forward alone with his 70-pound (32 kg) flamethrower to attempt the reduction of devastating machine gun fire from the unyielding positions.

Covered by only four riflemen, he fought for four hours under terrific enemy small-arms fire and repeatedly returned to his own lines to prepare demolition charges and obtain serviced flame throwers. He returned to the front, frequently to the rear of hostile emplacements, to wipe out one position after another. At one point, a wisp of smoke alerted him to the air vent of a Japanese bunker, and he approached close enough to put the nozzle of his flamethrower through the hole, killing the occupants. On another occasion, he charged enemy riflemen who attempted to stop him with bayonets and destroyed them with a burst of flame from his weapon.

These actions occurred on the same day as the raising of the U.S. flag on the island's Mount Suribachi, although Williams was not able to witness the event. He fought through the remainder of the five-week-long battle and was wounded on March 6, for which he was awarded the Purple Heart.

In September 1945, he returned to the United States, and on the October 1, he joined Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He was presented the Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman on October 5, 1945, at the White House.

On October 22, 1945, he was transferred to the Marine Barracks, Naval Training Center, Bainbridge, Maryland, for discharge. He was discharged from the Marine Corps Reserve on November 6, 1945. In March 1948, he reenlisted in the inactive Marine Corps Reserve, but was again discharged on August 4, 1949.

On October 20, 1954, he joined the Organized Marine Reserve when the 98th Special Infantry Company was authorized by Marine Corps Headquarters, Clarksburg, West Virginia. He transferred to the 25th Infantry Company in Huntington, West Virginia on June 9, 1957. He later became the (Interim) Commanding Officer of that unit as a warrant officer on June 6, 1960. He was designated the Mobilization Officer for the 25th Infantry Company and surrounding Huntington area on June 11, 1963.

He was advanced through the warrant officer ranks during his time in the Reserves until reaching his final rank of Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CWO-4). Although CWO-4 Williams technically did not meet retirement requirements, he was honorarily retired from the Marine Corps Reserve in 1969 after approximately 17 years of service

Williams struggled with the after-effects of combat stress until 1962, when he experienced a religious renewal. He later served as chaplain of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society for 35 year

The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the
MEDAL OF HONOR
to
CORPORAL HERSHEL W. WILLIAMS
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS RESERVE
for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Demolition Sergeant serving with the First Battalion, Twenty-First Marines, Third Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Island, 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, Corporal 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 flame throwers, 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 flame thrower through the air vent, kill the occupants and silence 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 strong points encountered by his regiment and aided in enabling his company to reach its' objective. Corporal Williams' aggressive fighting spirit and valiant devotion to duty throughout this fiercely contested action sustain and enhance the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

/S/ HARRY S. TRUMAN

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In 1965, Williams received West Virginia's Distinguished Service Medal. In 1967, he was honored by the Veteran's Administration with the Vietnam Service Medal for service as a civilian counselor to the armed forces.

In 1999, he was added to the City of Huntington Foundation's "Wall of Fame".

Named in his honor:

the West Virginia National Guard Armory in Fairmont, West Virginia;
a bridge at Barboursville, West Virginia; and
an athletic field at Huntington, West Virginia.

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission! 

[Kathy in Alaska]

And in second....Janey snags the silver!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

And rounding out the top three.... Pro bags the bronze!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, MS B...((HUGS))...any time off this weekend?

For Mr B....hope he's feeling better.

[MS.BEHAVIN]

*HUG*
So happy to see you, Ma!
Poor Mr B.- he has had a very tough week.
Thanks for your get well kit for him!

[MS.BEHAVIN]

At last, a pic of Tigermaus for radu and gang!
This kitteh is approx 9 months old and weighs
almost 11 lbs!

[luvie]

Ooooooo......he is just soooo handsome! He looks like he has some Siberian in him!

[MS.BEHAVIN]

Siberian?
Vet here thinks he’s part Maine Coon,
(Tufted ears and heavy weight)
He can be a handful sometimes!
LOL

[luvie]

Very well could be. Whatever he is, you can tell he’s boss. LOL!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Oh my goodness.....Tigermaus is BEAUTIFUL!! he looks very soft.

[Kathy in Alaska]

I’m just happy to be here. My desktop and laptop that sit side by side refuse to access FR....every other website, but not FR. I’ve done everything I know how to do, but still no FR.

Fortunately and thankfully the old and slow computer in the office gets FR just fine. Takes forever to post, but it WILL post. So I run back and forth with a thumb drive when I don’t have what I need.

And the office isn’t set up the way I’m used to....I had to get a space heater, as I refuse to turn up the heat and heat the whole house that I’m not using. I’m always reaching for something that is not there.

BUT...I am here! LOL!!

[MS.BEHAVIN]

Thank you.
I think he’s a real beauty!
They have cat shows up here for cats that are not
snotty top of the line breeds (Mutts)
LOL
I think he would win a trophy!
Yes, his coat is soft, but his tail is the softest!

[MS.BEHAVIN]

How strange!
That’s really weird, huh?
Boy, that would get me going!
I’m not patient about that kind of stuff!

[MS.BEHAVIN]

“you can tell he’s boss.”
He THINKS he is.
It’s a “discussion” he and I have had several times.
Mommy is boss!

[luvie]

Kathy...I saw your post and got to thinking. Maybe you could contact JimRob and see if it’s an issue with the website not liking your computers. Some sort of accidental blockage going on from there end?

I’m not that much of a techy, but there’s something wonky going on here.

[luvie]

It’s hard to boss kittehs. I’ve finally [sort of] gotten the upper hand with mine, especially Peaches, believe it or not. When they were younger I could get their attention in a heartbeat with a spray bottle of water. Wow...how they hated that thing. LOL!

Of course, he thinks he’s got ME trained. hmmm...or maybe he really does. :)

[Kathy in Alaska]

I already made contact with Jim...I followed his instructions, to no avail. But I do need to let him that it didn’t work.

I even thought I might need a new router, but EVERY OTHER website is fine...it is only FR.

I’m going to give my computer guy a couple days and then I will take the laptop to work and see if they can find anything amiss. It makes NO sense that one single website won’t work.

And a funny thing happened on the way to the posting of the Hall of Heroes thread earlier today....

I have several websites where I can test post to make sure everything is there, especially pictures. So I took the opportunity to sit at my regular computer and get the post all ready. When the Big Ben chimes went off at 4p, I realized “I can’t post from here”. So quickly email the thread to me, go into the office, download from my mail, and start the posting procedures. That’s why the post was late. LOL!

[luvie]

I was beginning to get antsy and even checked my e-mail to see if I had missed one from you! LOL! Glad it finally worked though.

FR is usually the safest and easiest site to access because of no ads and very few problems. Have you asked spel? He has helped me many times.

[Kathy in Alaska]

He’s helped me too. I might just have to ask him. d:o)

[MS.BEHAVIN]

The only issue I have with Tiger, is his biting.
It isn’t real bad, and I am hoping that behavior will pass
as he matures.

He plays very nice without clawing us, but he will try to bite
(and HAS drawn blood) he occasionally will try to bite when you pick him up.

He is otherwise, a very good boy, and a delightful companion to cuddle with!

[luvie]

He’s pretty smart about this stuff. And who doesn’t like to solve a mystery. :)