Hershel Williams

Corporal Williams received the Medal of Honor for his heroism on Iwo Jima during WWII. Under heavy enemy fire on February 23, 1945, Williams, a Marine demolition sergeant, daringly knocked out Japanese concrete pillboxes with his flamethrower to clear a path for his infantry to move forward. At one point, he climbed on top of a pillbox to insert the nozzle of his flamethrower through the air vent. He killed the occupants and silenced the gun. When enemy soldiers from another pillbox fixed their bayonets and charged him, he killed them all with a burst of flame. He repeatedly returned to his own lines to get new flamethrowers. Finally, an opening in the Japanese lines was created, enabling the Marines to advance. Williams was born in Fairmont, West Virginia, and resides in nearby Ona.

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Florentine Films / Sherman Pictures LLC

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