Iwo Jima Medal Of Honor Recipient Gets Warm Welcome At Tulsa Airport

Hershel Williams arrived at Tulsa International Airport and was welcomed by a group of Patriot Guard Riders.

Thursday, April 25th 2013, 6:03 pm

By: News On 6


The last living Medal of Honor recipient from the battle of Iwo Jima was in Tulsa Thursday evening.

Hershel Williams arrived at Tulsa International Airport and was welcomed by a group of Patriot Guard Riders. He's here for the 11th annual Medal of Honor Day Ceremony this weekend.

During the war, Williams was covered by only four riflemen, when he went forward alone. He fought for four solid hours under heavy fire to take out enemy machine gunners with his flamethrower.

The 89-year-old from West Virginia is humbled by the attention and said the medal really belongs to other Marines who died that day.

"On the day that I did the actions that resulted in the medal, never having heard of it before, we lost those two. They gave their lives protecting mine," Williams said.

A reception was set 6 p.m. Thursday at the VFW Post on East 6th in Tulsa.

The ceremony at Veterans' Park is at two Saturday afternoon.

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