LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A final salute to the nation's last World War II Medal of Honor recipient. Hershel "Woody" Williams will lie in honor in Washington, D.C.

Williams died last week on Wednesday, June 29, 2022 at the age of 98 at the Veterans Affairs medical center bearing his name in Huntington, West Virginia.

Ahead of the ceremony on Thursday next week at the nation's capitol, Williams' grandson talked to WDRB News about his grandfather's legacy and the pride he has for him.

"Woody is a national treasure. He's a World War II hero. Woody was my best friend, as well as my grandfather," Brent Casey said.

Hershel "Woody" Williams with grandson Brent Casey

Hershel "Woody" Williams died Wednesday, June 29, 2022 at the age of 98 at the Veterans Affairs medical center bearing his name in Huntington, West Virginia. (Photo provided by Williams' grandson Brent Casey, also pictured)

Williams was born the youngest of 11 children on a dairy farm on Oct. 2, 1923. He grew up in Quiet Dell in Harrison County, West Virginia.

Williams first confronted the cost of war during the early years of WWII when he delivered telegrams informing families of the death of their loved one. Eager to do his part for his nation, he volunteered for the U.S. Marine Corps in 1943.

He was a 21-year-old Marine corporal on Feb. 23, 1945, during the Battle of Iwo Jima, when he went forward alone, ahead of his unit, and eliminated a series of well-entrenched enemy machine gun positions. 

Later that year, at age 22, Williams received the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for military valor, from President Harry Truman at the White House.

Williams stayed in the military following the war, serving for 20 years in the Marine Corps and Marine Corps reserve.

For 33 years, he worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as a veterans service representative, helping thousands of fellow veterans obtain their benefits.

"Woody never met a stranger. It didn't matter if you were a Boy Scout our the President of the United States, he treated everybody exactly the same, and he made you feel important regardless of who you were," he said. "Especially Gold Star families, he had a real passion for honoring and recognizing and paying tribute to Gold Star families."

Casey has lived in Louisville for 30 years, and helped his grandfather run the Hershel Woody Williams Medal of Honor Foundation, which supports Gold Star families. Williams was well known in Louisville, which he visited often.

Part of Williams' legacy includes a VA medical center in Huntington, West Virginia, being renamed the Woody Williams VA Medical Center, where he passed away. There is also a Navy shipped named after Williams, called the USS Hershel "Woody" Williams. 

The Hershel “Woody” Williams Armed Forces Reserve Center in Fairmont, West Virginia, is the only National Guard facility in the country named after a Marine. In addition, there is the VFW Hershel “Woody” Williams Post 7048 in Fairmont, and the main bridge in Barboursville is named for him as well.

"We're losing our World War II veterans very, very quickly. Many, many a day," said Casey. "There were about 470 Medals of Honor awarded in World War II, and Woody outlived them all."

After Williams lies in honor Thursday morning, he will be laid to rest at the Donel C. Kinnard Memorial State Veterans Cemetery in Dunbar, West Virginia.

"Woody will lie in honor as a representative for 16 million Americans that served in World War II and saved this country, Casey said.

"It's bittersweet. We've lost a great hero, I've lost what I feel is my best friend and my grandfather but, at the same time, what he would have wanted is for this opportunity to really honor all 16 million Americans that served in World War II."

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