Herschel "Woody" Williams says he’s just a caretaker, that the Medal of Honor he proudly wears really belongs to the two fellow Marines who gallantly gave their lives at Iwo Jima so that he could do the job assigned to him.
"It really belongs to them," said Williams, who was among the 18 Iwo Jima veterans and their families to visit the National Museum of the Marine Corps on Friday as part of the festivities commemorating the 70th anniversary of one of the most storied battles in Marine lore.
"I was just doing the job the Marines trained me to do. They gave much more than I did, Williams said.
Still spry at 91 years of age with two daughters, five grandsons and two great-grandsons to keep him busy, Williams will be among a group of Iwo Jima veterans returning to the island in March as part of a week-long "Reunion of Honor" trip sponsored by the Iwo Jima Association of America. The nearly 8,000-mile journey will be the first for Williams since the bitter 36-day fight in 1945 for the South Pacific island south of the Japanese mainland that resulted in more than 26,000 American casualties, including more than 6,800 fatalities. More than twice as many Marines died in combat on Iwo Jima than did in all of World War I.
Williams, who is the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from Iwo Jima, will be carrying two Japanese flags that were captured during the battle to return to the Japanese people.
"I’m a little anxious," the West Virginia native said. "You never know how you’re going to be received."
Williams’ grandson, Brent Casey, said that he could tell that his grandfather is getting more excited as the trip nears. The Young Marines, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit youth organization that promotes character building, leadership and healthy lifestyles, is helping to cover the cost of Williams’ trip. United Airlines is providing vouchers to cover the veterans’ travel from their hometowns to Guam and back.
"It’s really going to be special," Casey said. "He was probably leaning toward not going, but once I told him that the Young Marines were going to support him and that even the commandant of the Marine Corps was encouraging him to go, that pushed him over the edge."
A corporal at the time, Williams was awarded the Medal of Honor after braving withering enemy fire and oncoming Japanese soldiers to silence seven enemy machine gun bunkers with his flamethrower over the course of a few hours.
To this day, Williams said that he can recall just parts of what happened, relying on the testimony of others who were there for more specifics.
"There’s a great deal of that day I have no memory of," he said. "I attribute that to just being scared half out of my mind."
Two of the Marine riflemen assigned to cover him while he assaulted the bunkers were killed trying to do so. Another, Darol "Lefty" Lee of Winona, Minnesota, still lives and will be traveling back to Iwo Jima with Williams next month. The two widowers have stayed in regular contact over the years.
"It didn’t seem that big a deal," said Lee of their actions that saved countless Marine lives. "It was our job."
Williams was among the 22 Marines and five sailors whose valor at Iwo Jima was recognized with the Medal of Honor. Fourteen of the medals were presented posthumously.