Navy To Honor Woody Williams

Hershel Woodrow "Woody" Williams turned 92 about 3 weeks ago. He is the last living Medal of Honor recipient from Iwo Jima. There were 27 awarded, 14 posthumously. He has been honored a number of ways since that day, February 23, 1945. He has received various medals, awards, and commendations, been named to "walls of fame", had armories, bridges, and athletic centers named after him. People have recognized his service in a number of ways, all very deserving.

In addition to the Medal of Honor, he also received a Purple Heart for injuries he sustained in fighting on Iwo Jima. Woody did an amazing job on the battlefield and his legacy is well known. There are two lengthy interviews with him that are both very much worth watching, one, on C-Span in 2006 and the other with the Pritzker Institute in 2008. I have linked them below.

C-Span Interview, 2006

Pritzker Military Museum and Library Interview, 2008

Yesterday, October 20, 2015, the United States Navy announced that Woody Williams will be honored by naming a ship after him. The ship will be an expeditionary sea base. There is no specific date for when the ship would be built or dedicated.

Williams said that he was, "extremely excited and humbled” when he received a call Tuesday morning by U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, who told him the news. “It's almost beyond my imagination ... that the secretary of the Navy — and America as a whole — would think me worthy to receive such an honor,”.

You can read the entire article, from the Charleston Gazette-Mail, where it talks a little more about the honor and Williams' history.

Charleston Gazette-Mail article

I am very glad that Woody is being honored in this way. I only hope that he is able to stick around long enough to actually see it happen. Thank you Woody, for the incredible service that you have performed, not only to our country, but also to other veterans. Your love for them is obvious and exemplary. 

 Williams speaking to Iwo Jima vets in 2010

Truman presenting the Medal of Honor

Jerry Parr, American Hero

Jerry Parr, September 16, 1930- October 9, 2015, was the Secret Service agent in charge of Ronald Reagan's security who's quick actions are credited with saving the president's life following the assassination attempt in 1981.

Jerry was a veteran of the United States Air Force before becoming a Secret Service agent.

There is a website that has lots of information about Jerry. It is the website for his book In The Secret Service.

There is also a well written article concerning his passing, written by Del Quentin Wilbur, author of Rawhide Down, a very detailed examination of the events that day. That article can be found here.

We should all be thankful for men like Jerry Parr and those who served alongside him, like Agent Tim McCarthy, who literally stepped in front of the president and took a bullet that day. These are not average people. They are very special people who do a job that often gets overlooked except in the instances of tragedy and chaos.

Jerry posted his last message on Twitter, just 3 months before he died. It said, simply, but profoundly, "Love is enough". It also featured this photo of Jerry and his wife, Carolyn:

Thank you Jerry Parr, for a life well lived, before, during and after your work in the Secret Service.

Parr to the right of Reagan