Woody is a farmboy from quiet dale, West Virginia. Kind of a juxtaposition of what he went into the muck coming what he went into, coming from a place named quietville. He was a young man when he received the medal of honor. I am sure he will share his story with you. I dont need to tell you what he will tell you. Without further ado, woody williams. [applause] woody thank you. [applause] woody thank you. Thank you. Thank you for that nice welcome. Wow. Thank all of you for coming today. I dont know that i have ever spoken to a larger group than we have here today. So thank you. Today is a day important in my life. I dont know that it is anymore important than the 70th or 73rd when we had an opportunity to go back to iwo jima for a visit. It naturally brought back a lot of memories, some good and some bad. But i am very humbled to stand before you today. I am grateful for the opportunity of sharing with you some of my thoughts. 75 years ago, at this moment in time, thousands of marines and Navy Corpsmen were lying their lives on the line to capture a very small piece of ground that we now know as iwo jima. Most of us who were involved wonder why so many marines were there to capture this very small piece of rock. We didnt know its significance at the time. I am sure those in charge did, because of the future planning they had for the island. But we in the lower ranks had no concept of what the purpose really was to take that very small piece of ground. We had just finished the previous july and august taking the island of guam back from the japanese. They had taken it from us in 1942. It was about 19 miles from one coastline to another. On this one, it was five miles from one end of the island to the other. The only thing we knew, we had to win. We had to take the island. Today, less than 1 10 of 1 of americans are serving in our armed forces to protect america and all of us. There are a great number of americans that really do not realize there is a war going on. That our loved ones are being lost and wounded. They tell me from the news that in afghanistan, the number is now around 20,000 wounded and killed. That is about the same number on iwo jima who were wounded, in addition to almost 7000 who sacrificed their lives those serving in our armed forces today have the very same devotion and a purpose that has always existed in america. To protect the very precious values that we have, that we live every day. Those purposes of freedom and protecting our way of life says, in effect, when that individual raises their hand and takes that oath, you may take my life, but you cannot take my freedom. Sometimes we ask a very simple three letter word why . Why . Very often we have difficulty finding that answer. A father who was asked that very same question, why, who had lost a son. He answered it this way i am compelled to answer that question that has twisted inside me like a dagger since the moment that i knew you were gone. Did we not, we the parents, point you toward what eventually happened . Did not we, out of our own unqualified love of country and rigid definition of duty, realize that could occur . We deliberately cultured you, cultured in you the currently unfashionable belief that each person is responsible for themselves. That man is a fabricator of his own consciousness, his own consequences. Not to be laid off on poverty or gender or associates of influence. And you listen well. You accepted yourself with what you had and granted yourself no excuses. From the first, we taught you reverence for the flag and the law. Our traditions and institutions. There was never a doubt that you would enlist. Nor was there much doubt in view of your determination to make the first team, that you would serve america. One belief that i have personally arrived at a long time ago was that, its not so much what you do in life. The most important is what you do with life. Chesty puller, whose statue stands not far from us, the icon later of the marine corps. A person who received five navy crosses for bravery. And his leadership no doubt was outstanding. There is a story that in korea, his unit was surrounded by the enemy. He was asked if he was going to have his marines retreat. His reply was, marines never retreat. We advance to the rear. Woody in vietnam, a group of marines were outnumbered. Their Commanding Officer said they must pull back. One marine, badly wounded, was accidentally left behind. When they reached a safer area, his buddy realizing he was not with them, wanted to go back and get him. But his Commanding Officer told him no, it would be suicide. But he had to go. He did, and when he found his buddy, he picked him up in his arms and carried him back to safety. He was alive. And he said to his fellow marine, i knew you would come back for me. That speaks of character and loyalty and dedication and faithfulness which every person in the Armed Forces Must possess in order to win. I wonder how many times in the history of america has this kind of a letter been sent home to mom and dad. The letter says, i am writing this letter to let you know how proud i am that both of you for signing my papers. You will never know how much that means to me. I know it was not easy. But you know there is a war to be won, and its got to be won by boys like me. We can fight the battle front, but you, like all other mothers and fathers, have the hardest fight of all. Just remember, we are fighting for peace. Peace between races of people. Peace at home among families, and together we can find peace. The writer of that letter was known as scott. He never got to come home. We, as a citizen of this great nation, must support that person who stands between us and harm so we can keep the values we enjoy every day. No doubt in this audience, there are many goldstar Family Members. Relatives of those who never got to come home. And they clearly understand the sacrifices that have been made and will be required as long as there are those who wish to do us harm. In americas history, there have been 5500 individuals who received the medal i wear around my neck. Many of them sacrificed their lives by going above and beyond the call of duty and sacrificing their life for somebody else. On iwo jima, 27 medals of honor were awarded to those who went above and beyond. 14 of them sacrificed their lives not for themselves, but for others. 13 of us were fortunate enough to get home. In the war on terror, 24 have been awarded. 15 have come home. And yet that is not to say that others did not go above and beyond the call of duty. And perhaps deserved the nations highest award. But there was no one to make the recommendation, or no witnesses to confirm what happened on that particular occasion. World war ii is the only war where our freedom was really in jeopardy. World war i, we fought in a foreign land to help another people. In korea, vietnam and iraq, and now in afghanistan, americans are sacrificing their lives so that others might have some idea of what freedom is all about. As a Young Country boy with no military experience and no military influence in the community, i had no desire to be in the military. I was going to be a farmer all my life. But we were told that what happened at pearl harbor, that our homeland could be attacked, that our freedom could be lost, that our way of life could be changed. At that time, we as a people and a nation certainly were not prepared for war. Some of our soldiers were training to protect america with broomsticks instead of rifles. We were in no shape to defend ourselves. To illustrate how naive i was, my concept of defending america was not to go fight a war or to take lives or to serve someplace i had never heard tell of. My concept was that we would gather here in our own country, shoulder to shoulder, do whatever we had to do to protect the values that we have. Military Service Changes the moment you enter. As a country boy, i was taught, you do not kill. The only reason you would would be for food or to protect yourself or your family. Any other way was wrong. The history books did not explain to us what war was actually like. On the island of guam in 1944, i witnessed the horrors of war for the first time. There was no choice. If we are going to win, we must come out on top. Our belief as americans is that life is precious, and everything must be done to preserve it. But the belief of the enemy was that it was an honor to die in combat, and for the emperor. Which made them a very tenacious enemy. On the way to iwo jima, as i said, we were told the size of the island. We were also told we probably would never be used. That two other divisions of 20,000 each were going to go first. That it probably would last three to five days. And that we probably would never get off ship. That we would never be needed. We had no intelligence of the island because we had never been able to get anybody on it. No one knew that there were about 500 pillboxes of various sizes. Many miles of tunnel hollowed out on that island. And because of the number of wounded and killed the first day, about midnight, over the speaker of the ship, we were told, you are going ashore. They told us we would have chow at 3 00. 0300, if you will. We had steak and eggs. I never figured out why they want to give you steak and eggs before you go to combat. We disembarked for daylight in higgins boats. There were about 35 or so in each higgins boat. We went out into the ocean and joined other higgins boats and began going around in a circle, around and around. We were told later that we were waiting for the beach master on shore to say come on in. We are still saying that on tv today, come on down. [laughter] woody but we never got that call because the marines on shore had been pinned to the beach. There was not enough room for us to get in. We had no place to go. So they took us back and put us aboard ship another night. That blasting horn came on at midnight and said chow again, 0300. Steak and eggs. [laughter] woody i think we are the only outfit that ever got steak and eggs two mornings in a row from the navy. [laughter] woody back in the higgins boats, back in the circle. A little before noon, somebody got the signal to come on in. When we got to the beach, there were jeeps blown up, tanks stuck, material in every direction of all kinds backpacks, rifles. But the most vivid memory in my mind, as we got off of the higgins boat, here were stacks of our lost. Wrapped in ponchos. Because we had no place to put them. They could not take them back aboard ship. They could not handle it. Eventually, as most know, cemeteries were established on iwo jima by the divisions and our lost replaced in those cemeteries. So far as we knew, once they were completed, that is where they would rest. But when we give the island back to japan, they had to be moved. Some came home. Many went to the punch bowl. Thats where my very best friend that i have ever had in my life, vernon waters, is resting. When we arrived at the beach, on the 21st of february, my company, c company had about 178 marines in the company. I had 6 marines in my little special weapons unit, they called it, where we had been trained as flamethrower operators and demolition people so that we could do either. But if there was not a call at the moment for either one of those operations, we were still marine riflemen. Those six individuals in my little unit, two each were placed with the companies, a, b, and c company. My job as a corporal attached to Headquarters Company gave me the responsibility of making sure that once they needed flamethrowers or demolition or blasting caps or whatever, that i had them available for them. It was their job to perform the operation. Somewhere around noon on the 23rd of february, they were all gone. I never knew whether they were wounded or killed. That information was never funneled back to us. Right at the beginning of the first airfield, our job was to cross the airfield and attack the pillboxes on the other side that they had set up to protect the airfield. We were waiting to move out and the marines around me began yelling something about a flag. And then some of them were standing up and firing their weapons into the air. When i saw that, i looked around in the same direction they were looking, which was toward old mount suribachi. Of course, i had to do the same thing. I had to fire my weapon into the air, too, because it was like a celebration. Old glory was flying on mount suribachi. Eventually, we got the word to cross the airfield. There was no protection. A few shell craters, bomb craters, but that is all. We lost a great number of marines just getting across the airfield. Then we hit the pillbox. They were reinforced concrete pillboxes. They had used iron rods. I guess we call them rebar today, but in my day, they were just iron rods. To support the concrete and artillery and bazookas. Had very little effect. They had piled sand on most of the pillboxes so that whatever hit the top would not hit the pillbox. They had all the advantage, because they had open territory. All we had was the aperture at the front of the pillbox that they were shooting out of as our target. Every time we would advance, we would lose. We made several attempts. Finally, the Commanding Officer got us offline. He called for a meeting. He only had two officers left. The sergeants were gone. Squad leaders were gone. But he called for a meeting of ncos. I am a corporal, i am not an nco. I wasnt going to go. But my First Sergeant told me he wanted me at the meeting. We gathered in a big shell crater so we could stay out of the raging fire, and that is when he asked me, as being the only flamethrower demolition guy left in the company, could i do something about some of the pillboxes that had us stalled. I had no idea of my response. One of the marines, after the campaign when we got back to guam, made the statement that my response was, ill try. So he gave me four marines to help me. I got to select them. I took two out of my squad because i knew them, but two other marines just standing around or lying around, i selected them. Picked up a flamethrower and started advancing towards the pillboxes. Back at that time, we had a guy, a position that we would put a marine in that we called a pole charge man. And before we left guam, we had put together pole charges, we called them. I took a two piece of wood about eight feet long with a 12 inch board nailed to the end of it. We put explosives on that, taped it on and then put a fuse in it, so that when a cave was burned down or a pillbox was burned out, the pole charge mans job was to run in and stick it in a stick it in, the pole charge in the pillbox, and set it off, to make sure that all in there were gone. I selected a guy by the name of slagger. He was a pfc. He was to be my pole charge man that day. On the first pillbox. He got hit. In the helmet. It penetrated the helmet. Hit the lining inside, went around in the back and threw him back in the hole he had just crawled out of. And slagger was done. Alive, but done. I didnt have anymore pole charge men that day. Much of the afternoon of four hours were a blank. Two or three things are so vivid that i have never been able to forget them. But some of it is just blank. One of those things is just blank. Is, how did i get the other five flamethrowers . I used six, according to witnesses who wrote up the citation. I have no memory. I have said, i am reasonably certain that none of those marines back there said, just wait, i will bring you out one. [laughter] i dont think that ever happened. A couple of the pillboxes i remember very vividly. One had a type of it where, the enemy was in the pillbox and that is where they were living. And there was smoke coming out of the pillbox. I had no idea what it was from. I always assumed it was from firing their weapons. But at least i saw this little trickle of blue smoke. So i got up on top of the pillbox and used that pipe to get my flame in. They didnt give us any more trouble after that. [laughter] at the time i was approaching the pillbox really close, i had to get within 15, 20 yards. Whether they ran out of ammunition or what happened, i have no idea, but all of a sudden several of them, and i dont know the count, i wasnt saying 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. They charged around the pillbox with bayonets fixed to get to me, and i got them first. So i remember those very vivid moments. But so much of it, never stayed. During that day, those two marines that i selected, i didnt know. They sacrificed their lives protecting mine. Once i found out that that happened, i didnt know it at the time, but once i found out that that happened, this medal of honor took on a different significance. I said from that point on, it does not belong to me, it belongs to them. I wear it in their honor, not mine. I keep it shined for them. Because there is no greater sacrifice than someone who sacrifices their life for you. For me. Pfc Charles Fisher and Corporal Warren bornholtz were those two individuals. They never got to come home. Had it not been for my Commanding Officer and four other marines who were willing to write up and then testify as to what happened that particular day at that particular hour, i would not be standing before you, and i would not be the possessor of the medal of honor. Very few things in this world that we can do alone. Every day, all of us depend on somebody else. To provide for us in some way. Whether it be the air conditioner or the heat in your house, or the telephone you carry in your pocket. Today and for the last few years, throughout america, dedicated americans are coming together and placing in their community, a gold star family Memorial Monument to honor the families of that community who gave more than any of us. They gave one of their own. 64 communities at this point. In 45 states. They have said, we need to remember and to pay tribute and honor to the families who sacrificed a loved one in armed forces. Regardless of how that may have happened. The grief is the same. The loss is the same. We have five states to go. And we are going to get it. We are going to do it. It is going to happen. One of the things that grieves me is that in our nations capital, where i am told there is Something Like 1100 kinds of memorials or monuments or honors, there is not one thing, one mention, one indication paying tribute to the families who have sacrificed a loved one for all of us. If there is any place in the country that there should be honor and tribute to those families, it is our nations capital. So with that, im going to ask a question. And i would like to see a show of hands, if you would be so kind. All of those in this audience who at some time in our history, going all the way back up to the current date, that had a relative, regardless of that relationship, that sacrificed their lives, that lost their life in the armed forces whether combat, training accident, plane going down, illness, whatever it may be, if you are one of those who have had that happen, could i see just a show of hands of all of those . Thank you very much. Could the rest of us thank them for their sacrifice . [applause] if i were to make a quick estimate, i would say at least 40. There are so many in the country that dont even realize they are a gold star family. Because they have never been subjected or educated in any way to realize that their relationship to that individual makes them a gold star family. Whether it is a grandma, grandpa, an uncle, an aunt, sister, brother, cousin, it makes no difference. There is that relationship. Once we get these 45, or beyond the 45 number that the communities have done at this point, what we would like to see is that the capitols of our states the ones being done now are primarily communityoriented. Because somebody in that community took on the role, formed a community, raised the funds, got the monument erected, but it didnt affect the rest of the state. But if one of these tributes is placed on the Capitol Grounds of every state, then it represents everyone in that state. So far, louisiana, arkansas, have already done that. Kentucky is in the form of doing theirs. Ohio is in the form of doing theirs. West virginia is going to do theirs in the spring. Already, we are just waiting for the whether to change, to get better so that we could have people come and take part in the ceremony. But the thing is going to be unusual about West Virginia, you know, our slogan is, mountaineers are always free. That is our slogan. It is going to make it unusually West Virginia, since we were the first state in the union to make that honor and tribute to the gold star families, ours is going to be two times the size of anybody else. [laughter] if you have any influence in your community or in your state, or those people are long overdue to be recognized. So many, many times, once we have dedicated the memorial, a gold star Family Member will just walk up and touch the memorial. And so many of them have said, now, my loved one will never be forgotten. We as a nation owe that to the gold star families of america. Past, present, and unfortunately, those of the future. We must not, we as a society and we as fellow americans must not ever forget we have the privileges that we have. The country that we have. The freedom that we have. Because of those who have gone before us. And gave their life for us. Thank you for permitting me to come and join with you this afternoon, and for the honor that it is to me to be able to stand here and speak with you and share my thoughts. And thank god for america. Our prayer is, and i have no doubt in my faith that god will continue to bless this great country. That each one of you and i call our home. Thank you very much. [applause] thank you. [applause] thank you. [applause] thank you. Thank you very, very, very much. We will have time for just a few questions. We have probably about 10 minutes for questions. He has got a question for you up there mr. Woody, i have two questions. One about iwo and one about guam. How many Navy Cross Recipients were there on iwo . Mr. Williams i have no idea. I have read the number but i dont have it in my mind, so i cannot answer that. I will tell you that the Marine Corps History Division is out in the lobby and they may well be able to as a question for you. You served in a battle of guam with the third marine division, do you recall or do you have any comments about how important the marine dogs were as force multipliers . Mr. Williams i really dont, because i never saw one. [laughter] again, the History Division can answer that question for you. Any other questions . Down here. Have you ever had the opportunity to go back to iwo, and if you were, what were your thoughts . Mr. Williams i was there for the 7 70th anniversary. Once we give it, president johnson returned it to them, i said i would never go back. I thought he should have kept it as a memorial, someplace where people would visit. Of course, they have by the thousands, even though we did give it back. But in 1970, my grandson, ive got a whole slew of them, they talked me into going back because of hearing everything about it but not knowing what was being said. The first time was rather emotional. I thought perhaps i could find the location where my assistant, the best friend i have ever had in my life, sacrificed his life. But when i was there, there was no shrubbery whatsoever. Everything was blown back. When we went back in 1970, it was all green. It looks like West Virginia rhododendron had covered the ground. I couldnt tell anything. So that was disappointing. But i am glad i went. And i am going again. In march, we are going back again. Sir, as you pulled out of iwo jima, and you had time to more or less wind down, did they prepare you for another invasion . Mr. Williams yes. When we got back to guam, while we were going, we had a group called the pioneers. They were actually engineers, i guess, or at least trained in engineering. While we were gone, they had erected some false fronted buildings. They had just the front with a window at night, propped up by 2x4s or 2x6s or something. It might have two windows and a door or something. They had taken bulldozers and made what would normally be a street. And they began teaching us how to fight into a city rather than into a jungle. How do you go down the street in formation compared to what we were doing, jungle fighting . And how to approach a house. How to go through a window. They began teaching us that kind of stuff. Dumt marines thought, b marines thought well, we are , going to tokyo. That is where we are going. Is that is all we knew. You hear tokyo rose talk about us and about what was happening in the marine corps area does so as far as we were concerned, tokyo was the only place in japan and that is where we were going. But we were scheduled to go on december 3, 1945, my division and another division were scheduled to go to kyushu and take the island. We were to take the southern part of it, and the army coming from europe wants to take the was to take the northern part of it. So we were scheduled for spring fighting. Any further questions . Medal of honor winner john basalman was killed on iwo and he got the navy cross posthumously. From then on, the men of honor was to go back to combat. With one exception, another one went back to vietnam after he medal of honor. The question i have for you, how many medal of honor winners from world war ii are still alive, do you know . Mr. Williams yes, me and one other. Charles coolidge from nashville 1998. He has been in really bad health for the last, probably 10 years. But he is still going. He is opening a medal of honor museum in the national area. Nashville area. He wanted me to come down and join him and i would like to do that, but i am headed someplace else. Charles and i are the only two remaining. Mr. Williams not to insult you or embarrass you in any way, we prefer that you call us recipients rather than winners. I didnt have any competition out there. [applause] i would have loved for other guys [applause] out there. [laughter] mr. Williams any other questions . Just a comment. My father, jack mckay was in the fifth marine divisions. He had three purple hearts. Sorry that i am crying. He was also a demolitions expert. He was on the cover of life magazine. It is a picture called sticks and bones. He is the third one in. But thank you for your service. My dad never talked about it. He had three daughters. The only time he did was when my nephew graduated from Marine Corps Training and my dad told him about his experiences. As a daughter, what you went through was just horrific. Terrific. Thank you for that. [applause] mr. Williams anybody else . This lady has a question. Mr. Williams ok. I came with several people. There were not able to get a seat. We all came from the fairfax officer selection station. People like you come before us as new people wanting to join the marine corps, what do you want us to know . What would you pass on . There is much we dont know. Yourself and other recipients and everyone else in this room who came before us, i think it is big shoes to fill. What would you pass on to those of us who have not even gotten in the door yet . Mr. Williams who did not get to attend this meeting . Who hasnt even earned to the right to be a marine yet. What would you pass on . Marines that have yet to be marines. What would you tell them . Mr. Williams i guess i am prejudiced. The army, navy, air force, coast guard, we probably dont have any coast guard, but you will you have to excuse the fact that i am prejudiced. If you want to be the best, be a marine. [applause] mr. Williams every branch of service has its purpose. Absolutely. I could not walk on water. I could never have gotten overseas. I had to depend on those navy guys to take me on a ship and bring me over there and the other was to dance with me. [laughter] you did a good job dancing. You got steak and eggs twice. Any other questions . Stand up and shout out. I dont think we can get the microphone to you. I dont need the microphone. I can shout. I am a marine. When you moved out to do what youre going to do, did you think about it at all or did you just go and do it . Mr. Williams i did nothing about it beforehand, it was a job from which i had been trained. Other marines had trained me to do it. That was my job. I did not question the fact that that was my job. Whatever it took, it fulfilled the duties. Thank you, sir. We have time for one more question. Yes, maam. I need you to be loud. Disabled combat marine. Hurrah. He was able to meet Barney Barnum and have his picture taken for semper fi magazine. I was wondering, would you honor my dog, rusty who was sergeant Marine Corps League . Train at the fez deck hospital. Would you have your picture taken with her, please . Does he bite . If he bites, no. If he does not bite, yes. He only bites the navy. [laughter] mr. Williams then ill do it. Law enforcement people, they are some of my very favorite people. We have these individuals and Law Enforcement in Law Enforcement put on a uniform and go out not knowing what is going to happen. They cant make a plan for it. They dont now. They dont know. They go out and put their life online, many of them are sacrificing that life. They are doing it not for themselves, some of them have the lowest paid salaries we have. They are doing it to protect. They are doing it because they are committed to protect. I admire those people. I really do. That they can do that day after day after day and the families dont know whether he will get home that evening or not. We need to support our Law Enforcement people. [applause] with that i will tell you my favorite Law Enforcement story. A young 18yearold wanted to be a Law Enforcement guy. When he got to be 18, he was accepted in the West Virginia academy to become a state trooper. Because of his desire and commitment, he graduated first in his class. As a reward for his graduation, the state police were getting a couple of new cruisers. They have two or three new cruisers. He got one because he graduated first place. Along with that, they gave him a dirty duty assignment. They assigned him evening shift, during the night. They put him way out in the country where he was four stop where there were four stop signs. People paid no attention to them. There was nobody to arrest them. They said we want you to go out there and sit and catch people running the stop signs. He went out and parked his cruiser. He is sitting in the dark, listening to the radio and then a guy in a corvette comes speeding through, exceeding the speed limit and runs the red light. , or i mean the stop sign. The red light, or i mean the stop sign. He debated, it is night, he did not know how may people were in the car, should he give chase . Can you imagine your first night on duty, never had this is. Before and now youre going to chase this guy down. He finally said to himself, i took the oath. He took after him, he put lights on, sirens, took after him. He chased him for a few miles before he stopped. He walked up to the car and he said you know i a stop to . He said no. He said you were exceeding the speed limit and you ran a stop sign. He said this is my first night on duty. He said i am sure that i will hear all kinds of excuses for why people do what they do. You probably want to tell me in excuse for what you did. If you can tell me one that i dont think everybodys heard before, different, then i will give you a warning, not a ticket. The guy sat there and scratch his head for a while. Ago,id, about two months one of your buddies ran off with my wife. When i saw your lights and your siren, i thought he was trying to bring her back. [laughter] [applause] if you would all just keep your seats while we get woody out of the theater, we will do that. One picture. Bring the dog over, lets get that picture really quick. The rest of you keep your seats. What is his name . Sergeant rusty banks. Mr. Williams all right sergeant. Once woody gets this picture, we need to get him out so he can go sit down for a few minutes. We have all been able to sit and he has been up for a long time. You will keep your seats while we get him upstairs so he can take a rest and then exit the theater after that . [applause] this is American History tv, featuring events, interviews, archival films and visits to college classrooms, museums, and historical museums, exploring our nations past weekend on cspan3. This weekend, American History tv is joining our spectrum Cable Partners to showcase the history of san antonio, texas. To watch more you on our tour, visit cspan. Org cities tour. We continue now with our look at the history of san antonio