Williams addresses the West Virginia Legislature recently. (West Virginia Legislative Photo Service)

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SPOTLIGHT ON WOODY: Super Bowl Coin Toss Features Medal of Honor Recipient

Hershel "Woody" Williams Dedicated Gold Star Monument Here

January 27, 2018
By: Dave Rogers

Hershel "Woody" Williams, featured speaker at the Michigan Gold Star Families Memorial Monument on September 30th, is scheduled to perform the Coin Toss at the Super Bowl on February 4th.

Fifteen Medal of Honor Recipients are scheduled to participate in the ceremonial event, including Colonel Roger H. C. Donlon, who has visited Bay City several times over the past few years.

The NFL will salute 15 recipients of the Medal of Honor, the United States' most prestigious military decoration when they participate in the coin toss before the Super Bowl on Feb. 4.

World War II veteran Hershel Woodrow "Woody" Williams, who received the Medal of Honor during the Battle of Iwo Jima, will flip the coin, surrounded by the group of recipients.

"The NFL is proud to honor our nation's heroes at Super Bowl 52," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said. "These courageous individuals deserve to be recognized on America's biggest stage. We are grateful for their service to our country and we are pleased to continue the NFL's longstanding tradition of hosting special tributes to service members at the Super Bowl."

The other Medal of Honor recipients participating are:

Bennie Adkins, Army, Vietnam; Don Ballard, Navy, Vietnam; Sammy Davis, Army, Vietnam; Roger Donlon, Army, Vietnam; Sal Giunta, Army, Afghanistan; Flo Groberg, Army, Afghanistan; Tom Kelley, Navy, Vietnam; Allan Kellogg, Marines, Vietnam; Gary Littrell, Army, Vietnam; Walter Marm, Army, Vietnam; Robert Patterson, Army, Vietnam; Leroy Petry, Army, Afghanistan; Clint Romesha, Army, Afghanistan; James Taylor, Army, Vietnam.

Williams, 94, who was an honored guest at the Bay City event, is the last surviving Medal of Honor winner of 27 men honored for actions in the Battle of Iwo Jima.

The citation that was read when he received the nation's highest military honor from Pres. Harry Truman noted that his "unyielding determination and extraordinary heroism in the face of ruthless enemy resistance were directly instrumental in neutralizing one of the most fanatically defended Japanese strong points encountered by his regiment and aided in enabling his company to reach its objective."

Commenting that the nation has long honored Gold Star mothers but failed to recognize the fathers and families, he proposed that Sept. 30 be recognized as a national "Gold Star Families" holiday.

"We have Memorial Day, where we remember our veterans and pay tribute to them," he said, calling on Congress and state legislatures to embrace the campaign. "This day, the last Sunday of September should be a national holiday for America."We will not ever forget the sacrifice these loved ones have made so we can be free in America."

Williams, who stands 5 foot 6 inches, was initially rejected for being too short when he tried to enlist in the Marines. He had been serving in a Montana CCC camp when the war broke out and technically was in the Army. But he wanted to be a Marine instead.

Finally, after pointing out that Napoleon Bonaparte, the famed French military commander also was only 5 foot 6 inches tall, he was accepted by a Marine Reserve unit in Charleston, West Virginia.

As it turned out, Corporal Williams stood at least 10-feet tall in courage when he took out Japanese pillboxes, one by shoving his flamethrower into the barrel of an enemy gun as he stood atop a heavily fortified pillbox at Iwo Jima.

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