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Ep 113 | Hershel “Woody” Williams – Medal of Honor Recipient from Iwo Jima

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The late Woody Williams will never forget the odor of burning human remains.

“There are some things about that 4 hours that have bothered me my whole life… I can’t remember going back and getting the other 5 flamethrowers.  It was so horrific, I didn’t want to remember.”

I was introduced to death by flamethrower after learning of Mr. Williams.  He went thru 5 – 70 lb flamethrowers in a 4-hour battle on Iwo Jima.  Two of the Marines assigned to him were killed that day protecting his life.  At the time of this interview in 2017, he was the last surviving recipient of the Medal of Honor from that battle, and the last surviving Marine to receive the Medal of Honor for heroism in World War II. Mr. Williams died in 2022.

I asked Woody, “What did you know about Iwo Jima before you got there?”  His response, “Not a thing!”  Later he saw the flag raised on Mount Suribachi, but didn’t consider the significance at that time.  He had a job to do and wasn’t reveling in the moment.

His story is remarkable.  He was awarded the Medal of Honor by Pres. Truman, but admits being more nervous to meet the Commandant of the Marine Corp than the President.  He shares with us what both these men told him regarding the medal.  He didn’t know anything about the MOH beforehand.  Even the day he received it he didn’t know what it was about.

Awesome interview.  You should read his medal citation below and learn more about him at these links:

Read his Medal of Honor Citation

Learn about his foundation:

Hershel Woody Williams Medal of Honor Foundation

*originally published Oct 30, 2017

Copyright 2024 Thad Forester
http://www.patriottothecore.com
email questions to thad@patriottothecore.com

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Ep 078 | Stan Staheli, Patton’s Third Army, WWII POW – Replay

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Photo courtesy of The Commercial Appeal

Please enjoy this replay that originally aired in Feb of 2017.

J. Stanford (Stan) Staheli was only 18 years old when drafted. One year later he was a member of Patton’s Third Army, 4th Armored Division, liberating France from the Nazi’s.  It was here that he was captured in 1944 during a German counter-attack near Rimsdorf, France.  The Germans immediately said “The war’s over for you.”  Stan thought surely, they were going to be killed; but that wasn’t the case.

He and the other prisoners walked three days to the camp in Frankfurt.  They then traveled by rail in a standing-room only conditions to East Germany.  Then eventually to another location where they were held for five months.  Even though he said he was treated humanely, he was stripped of his clothes each night and only had a small throw blanket for cover, during the coldest recorded winter in German history at the time.

Stan said life in the prison camp wasn’t that bad.  The guards told them “if you don’t work, you don’t eat.”  Having grown up in the depression, this wasn’t a new concept to him.  He learned to love to work long before the Army.  They built bomb shelters and repaired railroads for the German Army.  However, many of the guards were disabled from the front lines and would show the prisoners pictures of their captors’ families when their superiors weren’t around.

Staheli said his mom never lost faith that her son was alive.  Even though he was officially “missing in action”, many presumed he was dead.  After being released, he was finally able to write his family and then surprised them on a Sunday morning in Cedar City, UT.

Today, Staheli is 91 years old (as of Feb 2017) and has a noble posterity – 10 children (2 have passed), 53 grandchildren, and 60+ great-grandchildren.  Quoting Will Rogers, he said “I never met a man I didn’t like.”

This hero, with only an 8th grade education, was presented an honorary diploma from Enterprise High School in May 2016.

Music courtesy of Soundroad – Believe.
Copyright 2021 Thad Forester
www.patriottothecore.com
email questions to thad@patriottothecore.com

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Ep 069 – Hershel “Woody” Williams | Medal of Honor Recipient

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Woody Williams MOH

Woody Williams will never forget the odor of burning human remains.

“There are some things about that 4 hours that have bothered me my whole life… I can’t remember going back and getting the other 5 flamethrowers.  It was so horrific, I didn’t want to remember.”

I was introduced to death by flamethrower after learning of Mr. Williams.  He went thru 5 – 70 lb flamethrowers in a 4-hour battle on Iwo Jima.  Two of the Marines assigned to him were killed that day protecting his life.  He is the last surviving recipient of the Medal of Honor from that battle, and the last surviving Marine to receive the MOH for heroism in World War II.

You could say Mr. Williams lived a sheltered life up until his time in the military.  Prior, he’d never heard of Pearl Harbor, the Pacific Ocean, or Japan.  He joined the Marines to protect his country and protect his freedom.  He thought he’d be staying in the U.S., but after boot camp he learned they’d be fighting the Japanese in the Pacific.

I asked, “What did you know about Iwo Jima before you got there?”  His response, “Not a thing!”  Later he saw the flag raised on Mount Suribachi, but didn’t consider the significance at that time.  He had a job to do and wasn’t reveling in the moment.

His story is remarkable.  He was awarded the MOH by Pres. Truman, but admits being more nervous to meet the Commandant of the Marine Corp than the President.  He shares with us what both these men told him regarding the medal.  He didn’t know anything about the MOH.  Even the day he received it he didn’t know what it was about.

I even get his opinion on the NFL controversies over kneeling during the National Anthem.  Awesome interview.  You should read his medal citation below and learn more about him at these links:

Read his Medal of Honor Citation

Learn about his foundation:

Hershel Woody Williams Medal of Honor Foundation

*originally published Oct 30, 2017

Copyright 2019 Thad Forester
http://www.patriottothecore.com
email questions to thad@patriottothecore.com

Rock Tune by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Artist: http://audionautix.com/

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Episode 023 – Frank Jones, B-17 Bombardier, POW

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frank w. jones -WWIIFrank Jones married his high school sweetheart two weeks before WWII broke out.  He felt he should do his part to serve our country, so he joined the Air Force.

After washing out of pilot school for making six spins instead of two with his instructor, he became a bombardier.

One year after being married, and about three months after his first child was born, he was flying to England for his first deployment.

On his 23rd mission, with Hamburg, Germany as the target, Frank’s plane was shot down.  The crew got out first, then just as he exited the plane, it exploded.  However, he parachuted to his safety; temporarily.

He was alone on the ground, until he saw several locals.  Even though he hid behind a bush, some kids saw him and reported to the adults.  20-year-old Frank Jones was then taken prisoner on December 31, 1942.

The explosion made him deaf which ended up causing him to be thrown in solitary confinement.  Once removed, the bang from a slammed door miraculously brought his hearing back.

Life as a prisoner

Frank tells of their walk to another POW camp in Munich in the middle of winter.  What it was like to sleep in a pig pen, be a prisoner for four months, and then the sweet reunion with his wife and son in spring of 1943.  Plus, he learned boll weevils look like beans in soup, but he ate them anyway – hunger does that to you.

This 94-year-old stays active and is a joy to speak with.  Jones is one of the few left living from the Greatest Generation.

Music courtesy of Soundroad – Believe.
Copyright 2017 Thad Forester
www.patriottothecore.com
email questions to thad@patriottothecore.com

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Episode 021 – Stan Staheli, Patton’s Third Army, WWII POW

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Stan Staheli High school diploma
Photo courtesy of The Commercial Appeal

J. Stanford (Stan) Staheli was only 18 years old when drafted. One year later he was a member of Patton’s Third Army, 4th Armored Division, liberating France from the Nazi’s.  It was here that he was captured in 1944 during a German counter-attack near Rimsdorf, France.  The Germans immediately said “The war’s over for you.”  Stan thought surely, they were going to be killed; but that wasn’t the case.

He and the other prisoners walked three days to the camp in Frankfurt.  They then traveled by rail in a standing-room only conditions to East Germany.  Then eventually to another location where they were held for five months.  Even though he said he was treated humanely, he was stripped of his clothes each night and only had a small throw blanket for cover, during the coldest recorded winter in German history at the time.

Stan said life in the prison camp wasn’t that bad.  The guards told them “if you don’t work, you don’t eat.”  Having grown up in the depression, this wasn’t a new concept to him.  He learned to love to work long before the Army.  They built bomb shelters and repaired railroads for the German Army.  However, many of the guards were disabled from the front lines and would show the prisoners pictures of their captors’ families when their superiors weren’t around.

Staheli said his mom never lost faith that her son was alive.  Even though he was officially “missing in action”, many presumed he was dead.  After being released, he was finally able to write his family and then surprised them on a Sunday morning in Cedar City, UT.

Today, Staheli is 91 years old and has a noble posterity – 10 children (2 have passed), 53 grandchildren, and 60+ great-grandchildren.  Quoting Will Rogers, he said “I never met a man I didn’t like.”

This hero, with only an 8th grade education, was presented an honorary diploma from Enterprise High School in May 2016.

Music courtesy of Soundroad – Believe.
Copyright 2017 Thad Forester
www.patriottothecore.com
email questions to thad@patriottothecore.com

 

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