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Hershel Williams

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What did Hershel Williams learn from his first combat experience on the island of Guam? His answer is thoughtful, but he is not so sure what to think about the Japanese code of honor that leads to Banzai charges and suicidal attacks. (6:06)

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Hershel had seen a diagram aboard ship of the island of Iwo Jima; the basic layout and where the airfield was. Coming ashore the third day, his unit was stalled by a group of pillboxes blocking the way. His commander asked him if he could take some of them out with the flamethrower. What he did then resulted in him being awarded the Medal of Honor. (7:50)

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Hershel Williams was wounded, but he refused to move to the rear on Iwo Jima. Once he saw that his friend Vernon Waters had been killed, there was no way. (2:59)

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He was preparing to cross the airfield on Iwo Jima when Hershel Williams heard Marines yelling. He looked up and joined in what would become an iconic moment, the raising of the flag on Mount Suribachi. (2:03)

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He had been designated to receive the Medal of Honor for his actions on Iwo Jima, but Hershel Williams had never read the reports or seen the citation. Since he had no memory of that fateful day, when he stood before the president, he was still unsure why he was there. (8:51)

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When Hershel Williams returned to Iwo Jima decades after the fierce battle, he carried a special flag taken as a souvenir. There was one Japanese visitor on the trip, a wheelchair bound veteran who had been captured there, disgracing himself by surviving. Could he help return the flag to a suitable place? (11:20)

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There are plenty of memorials to the brave service members who sacrificed their lives to win the war. But Hershel Williams was always bothered that there was little recognition of the families who sacrificed their loved ones. So he began to correct the situation. (4:13)

Heyward Cox

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Heyward Cox recalls being put in a dangerous situation by his own landing craft captain while landing at Omaha Beach. (6:45)

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Heyward Cox describes the vital role his railway battalion played in delivering supplies to troops on the frontlines in Europe during World War II. (5:07)

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Heyward Cox compares the destruction he witnessed in St. Lo in 1944 and the state of the city 56 years later. (1:50)