February 19 1945 0900 hours the first of 70,000 Marines hit the black sand
shores of the Pacific island of Iwo Jima. They are met with silence hobros among
the Marines that the massive pre-invasion bombing campaign had
knocked out the islands defenses. Silence was soon shattered by a hailstorm of
bullets - as the Japanese defenders executed their trap.
The Japanese had 23,000 soldiers out there. We didn't know all of the miles of tunnels that they had all laid out. Marines were just one on top of the other.
Bunched up of course and soon as that happened the opened up and that's why we
lost so many in the first day. The 4th division had been able to start moving
around Mount Suribachi to the other shore. That gave us enough ground that we
could come in. We became the spearhead of the group and it was our job to spearhead
straight forward and 5th and 4th on our left and right they would go up the
coastlines. By February 23rd, fighting for every inch the Marines were making
progress. With Suribachi surrounded a patrol was sent to scale the summit not
far from the mountain base several American tanks had bent slowly through
the black volcanic sands. Suddenly they hit a network of reinforced concrete
pillboxes and buried mines. They were trapped in the kill zone. COS asked me if
I thought I could do something (inexplicable) of those pillboxes.
But he gave me four Marines, two riflemen, two automatic riflemen, their job was to whatever pillbox I selected,
that I was going to try the burnout - they were to fire at that pillbox to keep
them. So I stepped on the playing field and went to work.
During the course of four hours, most of it was absolute no memory. They burned out seven of us. By getting rid of
seven of those pill boxes that gave us an opening so that we could get through -
break through their line and once we got behind the pill boxes, then we had the
advantage instead of them. My assistant came running by me and water caught him
back in the head and killed him instantly. That man was my best-friend I've ever had in my life.
We were much closer than any of my other brothers. Our lives depended one each other. He and I made a pact several months before.
I had a ring that for my wife to be, the lady I was engaged to, had given me before I
left, his daddy he had given him a ring and we made a pact - shook hands - and if
anything happens to me, you would get this ring back to dad and my almost to be wife, and when I got to him that
day he was stretched out on the ground and there was that ring. I made that pact
with him but I got off and put it in my pocket. After the combat I wrote to the folks
and told him I had to and I would get it back to them but, I was not gonna mail it
for fear somebody would find it and take it. I'll bring it after I got home in
November of 45 my wife and I drove all the way to Freud, Montana right up next to
the Canadian border. I delivered that ring.
One of the most emotional periods I guess I've ever had in my life.
Several months later, the heroism of Woody Williams was recognized when
President Harry S. Truman welcomed him to the White House, where he was presented
with the Medal of Honor. My life completely changed the day that I
received the Medal of Honor. It probably was the best thing that ever happened to me. I'm forced
to talk about what happened and those moments of emotion and those moments of
memories that you can forget. And I think it was a therapy.