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Last remaining WWII Medal of Honor recipient dies at 98

Woddy Williams
Posted at 1:27 PM, Jun 29, 2022
and last updated 2022-06-29 13:27:51-04

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Hershel W. “Woody” Williams, the last remaining Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, has died at age 98.

Williams’ foundation announced he died Wednesday at the Veterans Affairs medical center bearing his name in Huntington, West Virginia. As a young Marine corporal, Williams went ahead of his unit during the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific Ocean in February 1945 and eliminated a series of Japanese machine gun positions.

Later that year, the 22-year-old Williams received the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Harry Truman. The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest award for military valor.