Remembering Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams

Another World War II vet is gone and with his passing, so is the last surviving WWII Medal of Honor recipient. Hershel “Woody” Williams, 98, of West Virgina died, on Wednesday. He was born on Oct. 2, 1923, and grew up in Quiet Dell, in Marion County, W.Va.

According to a news report, Williams joined the United States Marine Corps and served with the 21st Marines, 3d Marine Division, in the Battle of Iwo Jima.

He received the Medal of Honor on Oct. 5, 1945, from President Harry S. Truman for his “actions, commitment to his fellow service members, and heroism,” the Woody Williams Foundation website said.

After his service in WWII, Williams worked as a veterans service representative for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

He served in that capacity for 33 years. He was also the commandant for the Veterans Nursing Home in Barboursville, W.Va. for nearly a decade. He also served on the Governor’s Military Advisory Board for West Virginia.

In addition to his continued service to veterans, he was also named a Distinguished West Virginian, in 1980 and 2013, and is a member of the West Virginia Hall of Fame.

The Huntington VA Medical Center was renamed in his honor, in 2018, and is now the Hershel “Woody” Williams VA Medical Center. The nonprofit Woody Williams Foundation was also founded by Williams. It’s an organization that establishes Gold Star Families Memorial Monuments and conducts outreach programs for Gold Star families.

Among the accomplishments already mentioned, a warship, the USS Hershel “Woody” Williams was commissioned by the US Navy, in March 2020, in Williams’s honor.

The loss of Williams will no doubt be felt most in his home state of West Virginia, but the loss of another WWII vet will be felt across the military community.

According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, as of September 2021, there were only 240,000 US WWII veterans still living. It’s a demographic that is quickly dwindling.

Rest in peace, Hershel “Woody” Williams.