Hershel 'Woody' Williams - Marine Corps, World War II, Medal of Honor Recipient 

Thank you for this amazing video. I know "Woody" is gone now but his legacy will live on. He may have been small in stature but he was a GIANT of a man. I wish the generation's of today could take some lessons from him.

My mothers side is from Blue Field, WV and we thank you for your service. RIP warrior.

Rest in peace Woody You were one hell of a man

I knew Woody when he was stationed at El Toro with my father. They were together on Iwo Jima. I didn't know then that he was a Medal of Honor recipient. He was living in Eugene, Oregon where he died. Rest in peace Woody.

R I P Sir,a true hero,as are all your comrades.

God bless this brave man and hero! He cannot remember because of the horror of it is what i think! Remember with that flame thrower he was up close and personal and seeing enemy soldiers burning alive from his weapon. That may be why he blacked out the memory. He was and is such a good man, just cannot recall the details of the horror of that combat. Sir God bless you for your courage and bravery !!

What is amazing to me listening to this super hero is his clear speech and good articulation and complete command of this interview at his mature age, he talks better than a lot of us and he narrates everything with good memory and in a friendly way. His bravery and his desire to serve his country made him an excellent fighting man. May you RIP Sr. And thank you

Thank you Mr Williams, you are a great man. You do so much great work. God bless you. From Hurricane WV.

I’m hoping that you have or plan to get this interview into the National Archives. This man is important to our history, from birth until present. This man deserves the recognition and the generations to come, need to see this interview. God Bless Hershel. Thank You for doing this interview. Watching from Panama City Florida, USA. 🇺🇸

Rest in peace buddy, thank you for your service🙏❤

God Bless you and Thank you for your service. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through. Thank you for telling your story.

Thank you sir . You are an American hero. Fair Mt, Mannington, Shinnston and Entrrprise are proud too.

This Veteran has the. utmost respect for the "greatest " generation.

What a great interview, with an awesome man. What a hero!

It is a great interview with a great man, Thank you both. t

Thank you sir for your service,and for sharing your experience.

Thank you for your service, sir.

I am amazed he is still alive after all he went thru

Writing from a far of place some 72 years post war. I calculate Sgt. Woody Williams would have been 97 year-old when interviewed. First of all it is a wonderful interview. Congratulations. I note from the comments of others ‘Woody’ is in Gods abode. May his soul Rest In Peace. I am a military buff probably inherited from my late father who was a Major in British Eighth Army in the Middle-East. He survived the war. The velour of those who fought, died and survived in WW 2 is unbelievable. I have special fascination for Pacific war, especially IOW Jima battle. It is amazing how people fought knowing well they might die. It is to protect America and the freedom. Since. WW 2 the fighting mode has changed, although at some stage ‘Boots’ have to come into picture. War is a dirty business. No one wants it, wars will continue for ever. People should have sense not to go,to war. Coming back to IOW war, I wonder whether the Marines were trying to storm the airbase during the day time. I am aware Marines were dropping dead like flies trying to reach the pill boxes. Why didn’t they do as a night operation. Those were no the days of night vision equipment. Will you have time to respond?

Woody rocks! WWII vets: The greatest heroes ever!

Woody Williams, a native West Virginian. I met Woody several years ago. A very humble man. Semper Fi from an old Marine Sergeant.

Thanks so much for sharing! I pray that I'm half as sharp at your age.

Such a fascinating conversation, loved the interaction. Mr. Williams had such a clear and well-articulated memory....almost 80 years on. A true hero, and wonderful representative of the Greatest Generation. Hopefully, thoughtful younger people will witness this treasure at some point in their lives. As far as I care, there's no hope for humanity without understanding what young American men did for this country, and the world, less than a century ago.

"Iwo should only take two to three days tops"! "A quickie. A ahort time." Same thing they told them at Peleliu.

Rest in peace, sir. Thank you.

Amazing man and Marine!!!

I write again to compliment the interviewer on how he brought out the lifestyle in rural America in 20s and 30s, which must have made the youngsters tough enough to easily enlist in the armed forces coupled with nationalism. Coming to my non-military question on rural life “Woody” said they had some 25 cows to milk…. I wonder without proper transport in those times how they used to market the farm produce. Can some one answer please!

Rip to a great man

Let the man tell his story

Excellent interview, thank you!

Thank you for taking the time to make this record

Amazing interview! Love the long format because I always want to know more when I watch these interviews. No lack of detail here, superb! How does a man of his age talk this brightly for almost 3 hours I wonder... Amazing!!

RIP Sir!

So I guess if you are covered in scabs, bake em off in the sun. Lol. Badass.

THE EPITOMY of a UNITED STATES MARINE

he is fortunate not to remember the true horror of combat.thier are so many that wish they could.there is nothing worse than having to take another human life,especially many. tyrell santee

WPA was workers placement association i believe. As far as the dairy cows, they love a routine. The more routine their days are, the less stressed they are, and the better milk quality and production.

@1:25:00 approximately they discuss flamethrowers not being used in "Europe" (the ETO). Flamethrowers were, in fact used by the U.S. Army in the ETO. Anyone remember the first 20 minutes of the movie Saving Private Ryan where a pillbox crew is eliminated?

A milk truck would come every day and pick up the large cans of milk. That was taken to a provider that would pasteurize the milk and bottle it to deliver it to customers.

As I watch these I’m always kinda saddened in the knowledge that these great men won’t be around forever. I know we all have to go but somehow I derive some happiness knowing that some of them are still here with us. I think it’s probably because they represent a time when the USA was, well, let’s just say the greatness wasn’t in doubt. A powerful, cohesive country with everyone on the team. The soft crybabies were at a minimum.

A giant among men!

Incredible story. What a hero. You have to wonder what kind of commander would order his men to attack in daylight 300 yards across an open airfield against an entrenched enemy in pill boxes? Not a genius

The salve was probably icthamol?

Plywood was used in the Second World War. They were using plywood quite a bit in the 1920’s. But it’s said that the use of plywood helped win the Second World War. They built the PT. boats out of plywood and I knew that. The rest of the information I looked it up. Google!

How do i find put when the interview took place, which year with the president, etc

Magnificent man. Your audio is horrible, all the background noise, phone calls, talking was very distracting and an insult to this great man.

Tho shall not do murder a big difference.

How did he get a social security number without proof of birth?

Trump, Biden would never invite woody, he just embarrasses the proud history of the country.

Good but to interject you and your father was inappropriate.

sad to hear this american hero had to meet with biden. someone with entirely different values than himself. someone that people wont fight for.