Last Living WWII Medal of Honor Recipient,
Hershal "Woody" Williams
Passes Away
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Sadly, this week Hershel "Woody" Williams passed away at the age of 98. Woody received our nation's highest award for valor, the Congressional Medal of Honor, from President Truman on October 5, 1945. Woody served as a demolition sergeant for the 21st Marines, 3d Marine Division on the island of Iwo Jima against enemy Japanese forces. |
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His citation when he received the Medal of Honor states, "Cpl. Williams daringly went forward alone to attempt the reduction of devastating machinegun fire from the unyielding positions. Covered only by 4 riflemen, he fought desperately for 4 hours under terrific enemy small-arms fire and repeatedly returned to his own lines to prepare demolition charges and obtain serviced flamethrowers, struggling back, frequently to the rear of hostile emplacements, to wipe out 1 position after another. On 1 occasion, he daringly mounted a pillbox to insert the nozzle of his flamethrower through the air vent, killing the occupants and silencing the gun; on another he grimly charged enemy riflemen who attempted to stop him with bayonets and destroyed them with a burst of flame from his weapon. His unyielding determination and extraordinary heroism in the face of ruthless enemy resistance were directly instrumental in neutralizing one of the most fanatically defended Japanese strong points encountered by his regiment and aided vitally in enabling his company to reach its objective."
Woody was asked a question once about where he thought his bravery came from. His humble answer is something we could all learn from today, "I feel that our upbringing had some influence on our bravery because we were taught in the Depression years, if you didn't have it, you had to make it," Williams said. "And the only way you could make it was to work at it. Our upbringing gave us the confidence that developed into bravery."
We give Hershel "Woody" Williams one final salute for his bravery for our country and his many years dedicated to giving the much deserved recognition to the families of our fallen Gold Star veterans through the Woody Williams Foundation. You will be missed, Woody, but your example lives on!
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Get to Know Your Tank Farm Collection |
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In this newsletter, we highlight another amazing restoration done by Tank Farm staff and volunteers. This time, the vehicle is a Soviet T-34/85 medium tank from WWII. The museum has two examples in its inventory.
The T-34/85 was such a balance of firepower, mobility, and protection that Soviet factories continued production of the vehicle into the late 1940s. The Tank Farm's two T-34/85’s are 1944 and 1945 dated vehicles.
Our T-34/85’s joined the collection in the mid-1990s when we acquired them via an intermediary from the Czech Republic. At some point, the vehicles were gifted to Czechoslovakia, a Soviet client state and part of the Warsaw Pact. The Czech's made a few modifications, freshened up the vehicles and put them into service.
The vehicles soldiered on in service with the Czech Army for several decades. At some point, they were retired from active service and put in Czech reserves. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country of Czechoslovakia split into two, and transitioned from Warsaw Pact to being a member of NATO. At that point they decided to sell off obsolete equipment.
That is when the museum stepped in to acquire and preserve these pieces of WWII history. The vehicles were shipped from Europe to the museum. Time, however, was not kind to the Warsaw Pact paint. About 20 years ago, our T-34/85's had a very special visitor, Mikhail Kalashnikov-WWII T-34 tank commander and inventor of the AK-47. So to honor Mr. Kalashnikov, we painted one of the T-34/85’s in the style of patriotic slogans adorning WWII T-34's as they left the factories. The smile on his face made it very clear how much our hard work in keeping history alive meant to him.
In 2012, the decision was made to give the tank a face lift.
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The number 32 you see does not represent any individual vehicle, but is representative of the style, shape and placement of markings we saw in period photographs during our research.
Soon we will restore the other T-34/85.
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The black objects in these interior photos of our T-34/85 are ammunition storage boxes. |
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As you can see our restorations and maintenance of our vehicles are quite expensive. Your donations are paramount to helping us preserve the history that these vehicles can share with our future generations. If you'd like to donate toward the Maintenance and Tank Restoration Fund you can click here:
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This Year's Open House is
September 24-25th!
Mark Your Calendars...You Don't Want to Miss This Annual Event!
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Get to Know Your Tank Farm Volunteers
Tank Farm Volunteer & Reenactor,
Gordon Ridings
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Gordon, tell us about yourself.
I have been interested in all things history since I was a little kid. My family has a long list of military service from the Civil War on up to Vietnam. I started reenacting when I was about 14 years old (Civil War). I began WWII reenacting right around 1999 and have been doing so ever since. I have owned several World War II military vehicles to include a 1944 Willy's MB, as well as a 1940 Indian 640 military motorcycle. I have been participating in WWII reenactments and living history for close to 24 years now and have a strong interest in weapons and military vehicles/armor.
Gordon, describe your duties as a volunteer.
My duties as a volunteer vary depending what the task at hand may be. I assist with all vehicle maintenance, and have learned so much through this experience. One day we can be working on something simple, such as sanding or painting, and the next time we may be replacing the bogey wheel on a Sherman tank, which requires the track to be “broken” down and put back together. I also assist with driving many of the vehicles on the property from wheels to tracks. Another duty is taking vehicles to various events for outreach and conducting living history demonstrations. With this being said, keeping up on the maintenance of these vehicles in a must and a full time job.
How did you hear about NMAW and what drew you in?
I have been coming to the “tank farm” as a reenactor for close to 20 years now and over the past few years, I got into the volunteer aspect of keeping these vehicles running and helping with the restoration and have not looked back since.
What started your interest in tanks and military vehicles?
I have always had a strong interest in military vehicles and armor for as long as I can remember. Since the first time I rode in a WWII tank at the farm, I was hooked.
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Gordon Ridings (right) with David Horton (left) at the 2017 Open House |
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What is your favorite armored fighting vehicle of all time? Why?
My favorite armored vehicle is the M5A1 Stuart Tank. I have always been interested in this piece of armor, and how it was utilized in combat. I have taken a personal interest in this tank and was able to learn the inside and out of this specific vehicle in the collection. There are a few of us who consider ourselves “full time” volunteers that have taken this tank as our own and basically went through the entire vehicle from top to bottom to ensure it is in top running condition. Doing this, we have been able to take the tank to several events and share the museum and our passion for military history.
What is your favorite vehicle in the NMAW collection? Why?
I am going to refer back to the M5A1 Stuart “Eager Beaver” from the previous question for the reasons listed. We have named this tank the “Eager Beaver” due to popular WWII Big Band Song. I just love this tank!
What is your favorite military history book or movie? Why?
I don’t have any specific favorite as they all have their own reasons to love them. But I must say, one of them is Kelly's Heroes.
Ketchup or mustard?
Mustard
Hamburger or hot dog?
Hamburger
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Gordon at the 2018 Open House with the M5A1 Stuart Light Tank |
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EDUCATE | HONOR | INSPIRE
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