Hershel W. Williams

Hershel Woodrow Williams
Hershel W. Williams, Medal of Honor recipient
Nickname(s)	"Woody"
Born	(1923-10-02) October 2, 1923 (age 93) Fairmont, West Virginia
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1943-1945, 1948-1949, 1954-1969
Rank	Chief Warrant Officer 4
Unit	1st Battalion, 21st Marines
Battles/wars	World War II  • Battle of Iwo Jima
Awards	Medal of Honor (1945) Purple Heart
Other work	Veterans Administration

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. He is also the last surviving recipient of the Medal of Honor from that battle.

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. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, he was working in Montana as a Civilian Conservation Corps enrollee [1]. 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 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, attached to the 1st Battalion, 21st Marines, first to Company C and then to Headquarters Company.