thedrifter
05-16-07, 06:37 AM
Posted May 16, 2007
Vet, recruit share mission to serve country
John Bradley scholarship winner ready to do his job, just like the war heroes that came before him
By Steve Wideman
Post-Crescent staff writer
******ON — Hershel "Woody" Williams doesn't think Iwo Jima flag raiser and Navy Cross recipient John Bradley was a hero.
Williams, also an Iwo Jima veteran, doesn't see himself as a hero either, despite the fact he received the Medal of Honor for valor displayed on Iwo Jima on Feb. 23, 1945, the same day Bradley and five Marines hoisted the American flag atop Mount Suribachi.
"We were just doing our jobs, doing what we were trained to do," Williams, of Quiet Dell, W.Va., said Tuesday during an appearance at ******on West High School, where he took part in the inaugural presentation of the John Bradley Scholarship of Honor.
Bradley, of ******on, is the father of James Bradley, who wrote the acclaimed book "Flags of Our Fathers" about how the flag raising affected the nation and the lives of the three men who survived the battle.
Bradley scholarship winner Luke Justman, 18, might be following a similar path to the scholarship's namesake. Justman already is a member of the Wisconsin Army National Guard eyeing training as a combat medic — Bradley was a corpsman.
"I've always wanted to join the military and serve my country, but I'm also interested in the medical profession. As a medic my goal would be to help my unit until someone gets injured and then help them, basically doing my job," said Justman, who reports July 20 for basic training at Fort Knox, Ky., shortly after graduation.
This was Williams' first trip to Wisconsin.
"I'm so proud to be a part of this ceremony because of its educational content," Williams said. "Basically I am not an educated person. I finished eighth grade and started high school."
Williams finished high school after the war. He said it burdens him "that we are not paying enough attention to our educational system."
"We ought to be the best at science, human relations and mathematic. We are not. And it bothers me," he said.
Williams, who didn't know or meet Bradley while the two were on Iwo Jima, received the Medal of Honor for his work destroying enemy fortifications that blocked the advance of tanks in his Third Marine Division unit.
Covered by only four riflemen, Williams, a corporal, faced machine gun fire and Japanese infantry charging with bayonets over four hours as he destroyed with a flamethrower several Japanese strongpoints and their occupants.
Williams said he didn't see the flag go up over Mount Suribachi, "but what I did notice is Marines jumping up and down around me firing their weapons in the air. I didn't know what was going on, then I looked up and saw Old Glory atop Mount Suribachi."
Williams said he thinks of John Bradley "as a person who did something extraordinary, but who did what he was trained to do — save lives."
"I'm confident on the day the flag was raised and I did my job he (Bradley) had never heard of the Navy Cross and I had never heard of, what they called in those days the Congressional Medal of Honor."
Williams said on Feb. 23, 1945, his company commander asked him "if I could do something about those 800 enemy pill boxes that occupied that part of the island."
"I don't know what I said, but some of the people in the shell crater with me said I made the statement, 'I'll try,'" he said.
Justman said he will try to do his best as a combat medic or in whatever civilian medical field he ultimately pursues.
"Every National Guard unit in Wisconsin has been called to active duty and a good number have been called twice," Justman said. "I realize there is a good chance I will be called up, but the reason I chose the National Guard over active duty is my interest in attending college."
Justman, who will attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said he feels honored to be the first recipient of the John Bradley Scholarship of Honor.
"When I applied, I knew John Bradley's history, but didn't realize all the people who would be here because of him. It's quite an honor," Justman said.
Steve Wideman can be reached at 920-993-1000, ext. 302, or swideman@postcresent.com.
Ellie
Vet, recruit share mission to serve country
John Bradley scholarship winner ready to do his job, just like the war heroes that came before him
By Steve Wideman
Post-Crescent staff writer
******ON — Hershel "Woody" Williams doesn't think Iwo Jima flag raiser and Navy Cross recipient John Bradley was a hero.
Williams, also an Iwo Jima veteran, doesn't see himself as a hero either, despite the fact he received the Medal of Honor for valor displayed on Iwo Jima on Feb. 23, 1945, the same day Bradley and five Marines hoisted the American flag atop Mount Suribachi.
"We were just doing our jobs, doing what we were trained to do," Williams, of Quiet Dell, W.Va., said Tuesday during an appearance at ******on West High School, where he took part in the inaugural presentation of the John Bradley Scholarship of Honor.
Bradley, of ******on, is the father of James Bradley, who wrote the acclaimed book "Flags of Our Fathers" about how the flag raising affected the nation and the lives of the three men who survived the battle.
Bradley scholarship winner Luke Justman, 18, might be following a similar path to the scholarship's namesake. Justman already is a member of the Wisconsin Army National Guard eyeing training as a combat medic — Bradley was a corpsman.
"I've always wanted to join the military and serve my country, but I'm also interested in the medical profession. As a medic my goal would be to help my unit until someone gets injured and then help them, basically doing my job," said Justman, who reports July 20 for basic training at Fort Knox, Ky., shortly after graduation.
This was Williams' first trip to Wisconsin.
"I'm so proud to be a part of this ceremony because of its educational content," Williams said. "Basically I am not an educated person. I finished eighth grade and started high school."
Williams finished high school after the war. He said it burdens him "that we are not paying enough attention to our educational system."
"We ought to be the best at science, human relations and mathematic. We are not. And it bothers me," he said.
Williams, who didn't know or meet Bradley while the two were on Iwo Jima, received the Medal of Honor for his work destroying enemy fortifications that blocked the advance of tanks in his Third Marine Division unit.
Covered by only four riflemen, Williams, a corporal, faced machine gun fire and Japanese infantry charging with bayonets over four hours as he destroyed with a flamethrower several Japanese strongpoints and their occupants.
Williams said he didn't see the flag go up over Mount Suribachi, "but what I did notice is Marines jumping up and down around me firing their weapons in the air. I didn't know what was going on, then I looked up and saw Old Glory atop Mount Suribachi."
Williams said he thinks of John Bradley "as a person who did something extraordinary, but who did what he was trained to do — save lives."
"I'm confident on the day the flag was raised and I did my job he (Bradley) had never heard of the Navy Cross and I had never heard of, what they called in those days the Congressional Medal of Honor."
Williams said on Feb. 23, 1945, his company commander asked him "if I could do something about those 800 enemy pill boxes that occupied that part of the island."
"I don't know what I said, but some of the people in the shell crater with me said I made the statement, 'I'll try,'" he said.
Justman said he will try to do his best as a combat medic or in whatever civilian medical field he ultimately pursues.
"Every National Guard unit in Wisconsin has been called to active duty and a good number have been called twice," Justman said. "I realize there is a good chance I will be called up, but the reason I chose the National Guard over active duty is my interest in attending college."
Justman, who will attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said he feels honored to be the first recipient of the John Bradley Scholarship of Honor.
"When I applied, I knew John Bradley's history, but didn't realize all the people who would be here because of him. It's quite an honor," Justman said.
Steve Wideman can be reached at 920-993-1000, ext. 302, or swideman@postcresent.com.
Ellie