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He Is Out in the Garage
(February 15, 2010)
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On 23 Feb 1945, photographer Joe Rosenthal was shooting the now
world famous picture of the six men raising the flag atop Mt.
Sirubachi, on the island of Iwo Jima. On that same day another young
Marine was fighting for his life on Iwo Jima.
Corporal Hershel “Woody” Williams was trained to operate a flame
thrower. When a group of Japanese reinforced concrete pillboxes had
to be neutralized, to put their murderous machineguns out of action,
Corporal Williams rose to the challenge. A small in stature young
man weighting only 150 pounds, he strapped on his seventy pound
flame thrower and over the course of four hours he silenced the
enemy guns. | |
Van E. Harl |
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The flame thrower is made out of two large tanks and a small one.
You cannot crawl on the ground with these tanks on your back, so you
have to maneuver to and fight your enemy standing up in the open.
Given the terror and horrible, painful destruction that a flame
thrower can produce in combat, a flame thrower operator can draw the
enemy fire unmercifully. Corporal Williams had to take the fight to
the enemy with no cover or concealment. The fuel in his tanks did
not last long so he also had to leave the fighting, return for
re-supply and then maneuver back into action, all the while standing
straight up and making an excellent target for the Japanese. At one
point Japanese soldiers charged with fixed bayonets in an effort to
stop Corporal Williams; he destroyed them with is burst of flame. He
was also carrying heavy demolition charges to the Japanese
fortifications and then under intense fire placed the charges and
destroyed the enemy. For his efforts Corporal Williams was awarded
the Medal of Honor. |
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Hershel Williams, Medal Of Honor Recipient |
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The issue with being a Medal of Honor recipient is
you don't get your medal that evening, after the combat
action is over. It takes research and documentation and
approval at the most senior levels of military and
civilian government. So while the men around you know
you are a hero, nobody pulls you off the line and takes
you out of harm's way.
Of the six men who raised the flag that day, three of
them would never leave Iwo Jima alive. Corporal Williams
continued to fight and in fact was wounded on March 6th.
That same wound could have killed him and his family
would have received both his Purple Heart and his Medal
of Honor posthumously. But Corporal Williams did survive
his combat and was sent back to the States. No one told
him he was going to receive the Medal of Honor. He
reported to Washington DC on 4 Oct 1945 and was then
told the next day President Harry Truman would be
awarding him the medal at the Whitehouse. He thought
when he was ordered to report to DC and to bring his
mother and wife-to-be, that perhaps he was getting a
Purple Heart for his wounds on Iwo Jima. |
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I got to meet Mr. “Woody” Williams at the 2007 reunion of Iwo Jima
Veterans, in Wichita Falls, Texas. What this medal did was take a
young man from a small town in West Virginia, who most likely would
have never seen the world, and make him a living, breathing,
continuing educator of our American history. He travels the country
and makes seventy to eighty public appearances a year. He carries
gold dollars in his pockets and awards them to people in his
audience who can correctly answer his questions on history, and not
just military history. He told me we have to “continue the need for
history”.
“Woody” Williams continues to serve his country and remind us of our
history. He stayed in the Marine Corps reserve and retired a Chief
Warrant Officer. His civilian career was working for the Veterans
Administration where he continued serving his nation and his fellow
veterans. When I called his home to get some additional information
his wife answered. After telling her who I was she said “just a
minute he is out in the garage, I will get him.”
True heroes serve their nation in time of need and then go back home
and get on with their lives. They pay their bills, raise their
families, and serve their communities. “Woody” Williams did all that
and in his spare time he is an American Hero and a walking National
Treasure. If you need “Woody Williams he may be out in the garage
working on a project, but he will always answer “the call”.
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By
Van E. Harl
Copyright
2007 About Author:
Major Van E. Harl, USAF Ret., was a career police officer in the U.S. Air
Force. He was the Deputy Chief of police at two Air Force Bases and the
Commander of Law Enforcement Operations at another. Major Harl is a graduate of
the U.S. Army Infantry School, the Air Force Squadron Officer School and the Air
Command and Staff College. After retiring from the Air Force he was a state
police officer in Nevada.
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