Medal of Honor Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Woody Williams U.S. Capitol Statue Will Happen, Grandson Says

Curtis Tate spoke with Chad Graham, Williams’ grandson, about what happens next.

The state Senate unanimously approved a resolution in February to place a statue of Hershel “Woody” Williams in the U.S. Capitol. Williams, who died in 2022 at age 98, was the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from World War II.

The measure, though, did not get a vote in the House of Delegates before the regular session ended. Curtis Tate spoke with Chad Graham, Williams’ grandson, about what happens next.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Tate: How come the legislature didn’t complete its work on the resolution to place the statue?

Graham: My understanding is, and of course, I’m a resident, as my granddad used to call it ‘that foreign state over there,’ Kentucky. So I’m about two hours and 40 minutes from where I grew up there, and the Huntington-Barboursville area, but my understanding is, it was just timing. It seems like there’s widespread support of this. And I think it was just how things fell in terms of what they were trying to get through within that session. And everybody feels confident that in this next round, or I guess, maybe in a special session, it’s something that will get pushed to the top of the stack, so to speak, but that’s my understanding.

Tate: What would your grandfather think about the effort to put his statue inside the Capitol?

Graham: I’ve never known anyone that was more proud and loved more being a West Virginian. My grandmother was the same way. She used to joke, ‘I’ve got five grandsons.’ My mother, Tracy, still lives in Barboursville. But the other daughter lives in Ohio. Her sons live in Ohio, and then three of us grandsons live in Kentucky. And one day my grandmother’s over visiting the family in Ohio, and she was still living and she said, “Do you think it’s time for us to get back home? The air is just better over there.” And it was I mean, they were you know, they were in like Marietta so that was right across the river. But point being, he loved being a West Virginia and he loved West Virginia so much. Even where he chose to be laid to rest there with my grandmother at Donnel C. Kinnard State Veterans Cemetery, so many people said Woody, you know, as a Medal of Honor recipient, Arlington does welcome those recipients to be buried there and their spouses. He said, “That’s not where I’m from.” He said, “I want to be with my people. I want to be in West Virginia.” So I know this for him would be so, so meaningful.

Tate: Once the legislature is fully on board, how long might this take?

Graham: My understanding is that it is a multi-year process, as many things in the District are, especially when it involves the Capitol, the way that the Capitol is governed and the design components of this and how that design would be developed. Even down to the medium used for the statute itself, there are fairly clear-cut regulations and guidelines for that. I can send you some quick reads in terms of how the statuary works. But it would be a multi-year process. And if that all went smooth – I know just enough to be dangerous in terms of how the different committees work when it comes to design and things like that at the district or within the district, especially within the Capitol. It could be as quick as two to three years. There are components of it that would be out of the hands of our state of West Virginia, essentially.

Tate: The rotunda was full of dignitaries the day his casket was brought in. Do you see that happening when the statue is unveiled?

Graham: Of course, we miss him every day. Still, every single day. But it warmed our hearts, made us feel very thankful for everybody that supported him. And I feel like this would be much the same. He was so generous with his time and who he was that he gave a little piece of himself to everyone that he met and interacted with, and even some folks that he never met. I think what he meant to people is part of why this is important. And I am certain that on that wonderful day when this is unveiled that there’ll be a lot of people squeezing in to be a part of that, to see it and and support it and support what he’s about.

Tate: The last survivor of the USS Arizona attack at Pearl Harbor just died. Your grandfather was part of a generation we’re losing fast.

Graham: On the (USS) Missouri, it’s probably been 2016-17, somewhere in that space. With then five of the living Arizona survivors of course as you mentioned, we just lost the last one but sitting with those five gentlemen and then going into the captain’s quarters on the Missouri, decorated as it was in World War II with pictures of the commander in chief (Harry) Truman in the cabin. And these old guys, it was like dialing back the clock, they might as well been 21 years old again. You know, giving each other a hard time of course, Papaw being a Marine like your granddad and these guys being Navy and giving each other just all kind of grief, and then when they christened my granddad’s ship in San Diego. Those guys came to support him, those Arizona survivors, and to lose them I think that to me, it breaks your heart a little bit to see – not a little bit – it breaks your heart, period, to see that generation dwindling away because they’re from a different fabric.

Session Ends With Woody Williams Statue Resolution Stuck In House

The Senate passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 30 unanimously in February. It would have placed a statue of Hershel “Woody” Williams in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol.

A resolution to honor Woody Williams with a statue in the U.S. Capitol never got a vote in the House of Delegates.

The Senate passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 30 unanimously in February. It would have placed a statue of Hershel “Woody” Williams in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol.

But like hundreds of other bills during the 60-day session, it never moved in the other chamber.

Williams, who died in 2022 at age 98, was the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from World War II. Williams was awarded the medal for his actions in combat in the Marine Corps at the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945.

Congressional leaders paid tribute to Williams in the U.S. Capitol rotunda following his death.

His statue would have replaced that of John Kenna, a 19th century legislator. Kenna’s statue would have been relocated to the Culture Center in Charleston.

Watch West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s tribute to Williams here.

Resolution Would Place Statue Of Woody Williams In U.S. Capitol

The Senate Finance Committee approved a resolution Wednesday that will place a statue of Woody Williams in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol.

War hero Hershel “Woody” Williams was honored at the U.S. Capitol following his death. Now, a statue of him could be on permanent display there.

The Senate Finance Committee approved a resolution Wednesday that will place a statue of Woody Williams in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol.

His youngest grandson, Chad Graham, thanked the committee.

“We feel as a family this is such a tremendous honor and is something we were so humbled and excited to hear about,” Graham said.

Williams, the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, died in 2022 at age 98.

Lawmakers from both parties and both chambers paid tribute to Williams in the Capitol rotunda.

If the legislature approves the resolution, a statue of Williams will replace that of John K enna, a Confederate veteran who was later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.

Kenna’s statue would then be moved to the Culture Center in Charleston.

Each state has two statues in Statuary Hall. West Virginia’s other notable figure is Francis Harrison Pierpont, a lawyer who became Virginia’s governor at the end of the Civil War.

The Woody Williams Foundation honors Gold Star families, those who have sacrificed loved ones in service to the country.

Watch West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s tribute to Williams here.

Groundbreaking Held For Charles Calvin Rogers Veterans Nursing Facility

Rogers, who died in 1990, served in the Vietnam War and was honored for his acts of heroism while wounded near the Cambodian border during Operation Toan Thang II on Nov. 1 1968.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Monday for a new veterans nursing facility in Beckley.

The Charles Calvin Rogers Veterans Nursing Facility is named in honor of Fayette County native and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient – U.S. Major General Charles Calvin Rogers.

Rogers, who died in 1990, served in the Vietnam War and was honored for his acts of heroism while wounded near the Cambodian border during Operation Toan Thang II (Complete Victory) on Nov. 1 1968.

He was presented with the Medal of Honor by President Nixon during a ceremony at the White House on May 14, 1970. He was the highest ranking African-American service member to receive the honor.

Gov. Jim Justice and state officials were joined for Monday’s groundbreaking ceremony by veterans, project managers, and directors from the West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance.

“This is a truly special day for West Virginia and for our veterans, especially our veterans in southern West Virginia,” Justice said. “This facility is going to be one of the best in the country, and it should be, because that’s what our veterans deserve. It’s especially meaningful because we get to honor General Charles Calvin Rogers, who is a true American military hero and one of our own.”

The 120 bed state-of-the-art nursing facility will be built next to the Jackie Withrow Hospital on South Eisenhower Drive.

Financed through a federal grant through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and state dollars set aside for the project, the facility will feature a “small home” model where residents will live in 12-to-15-person communities. The facility will feature common rooms, kitchens, dining areas, and amenities designed to emphasize dignified and autonomous living.

Construction on the facility is expected to take up to two years.

“We cannot thank Governor Justice enough for his leadership and support of this tremendous and extremely important project,” Ted Diaz, secretary of the West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance, said. “I am so pleased for our veterans, and we are honored because this project is a testament to West Virginia’s leadership and the fact that our state is serving those who served. We also couldn’t be more pleased that we’re paying tribute to the remarkable service and career of General Rogers.”

The first state veterans nursing home, in Clarksburg, was opened 15 years ago and primarily serves veterans in north central West Virginia. A veterans home in Barboursville provides a home for 150 West Virginia veterans that were discharged honorably.

W.Va. Senators Honor Woody Williams From Floor Of U.S. Senate

West Virginia’s last World War II Medal of Honor recipient, Woody Williams, will lie in honor on Thursday in the U.S. Capitol. Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito paid tribute to Williams Wednesday evening from the floor of the U.S. Senate.

Manchin said he was more than a friend, confidant and elected representative to Woody Williams. He said he gladly took marching orders from an American hero.

“It has been 77 years since Woody Williams quieted those enemy machine guns on the Sands of Iwo Jima,” Manchin said. “And while he is now sadly gone, the ideals that he lived by are not. The love of his family, his friends and his faith and service to the country above all, Gen. George Patton once said, ‘It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.’ He lived every day as if he were given a second chance, and we are all so much better for it. One of Woody’s last wishes was lying in state at the United States Capitol and it wasn’t for himself. We spoke about this years ago. It wasn’t for himself. But he wanted to make sure that he’d represent all Medal of Honor recipients from World War Two and there were only 472. A West Virginia farm boy from Quiet Dell will lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, laying to rest the sacrifices of a generation of heroes.”

Capito said she thinks of her father, Gov. Arch Moore, himself a World War Two veteran who received a Purple Heart, and all the others from the greatest generation when she remembers a man who so many honor as the greatest of that generation.

“That guy could give a speech,” Capito said. “And it was always very captivating whenever he was on the program. His mission was to inspire those especially younger Americans to answer that same call to service that he did as a teenage boy. As he said years later, the people need to remember that if we ever lose our freedom, we will never be able to regain it. He believed that to every core of his body. There’s no doubt in my mind that because of Woody, there are more people who answered the call and chose to serve the United States in some way, shape or form, what an incredible legacy to leave. He also never forgot his fellow veterans, serving as a veteran’s service rep for 33 years at the VA. And I’m proud that that legacy of care lives on forever. In the Hershel Woody Williams VA Medical Center in Cabell County, outside of Huntington, West Virginia, as a matter of fact, Sen. Manchin told me that that was one of his requests. He needs another exit for that hospital. ‘Joe, could you arrange that?’ But he did all this with the same trademark humility that we came to know and love about him.”

Williams is one of a select few in American history to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol.

Architect Who Worked With Woody Williams: 'He Had It In His Own Mind'

Woody Williams, who died on June 29 in Huntington, wanted to build a place in honor of veterans and their families. A place where they can gather and celebrate, protected from the elements.

Michael Mills can’t forget the day he met Woody Williams.

The 97-year-old Medal of Honor recipient drove himself to the Kinnard National Cemetery in Dunbar. He gave Mills a firm handshake. They walked the grounds together and talked about what Williams wanted to do.

Williams, who died on June 29 in Huntington, wanted to build a place in honor of veterans and their families. A place where they can gather and celebrate, protected from the elements.

Mills, the principal manager of the Mills Group, said Williams had a clear idea of what the project should look like. Williams produced a sketch Mills used as the basis of the architectural drawings.

“And he had such energy and vigor in his vision,” Mills said. “He knew exactly what this architecture could serve and had a basic concept of the shape and formality of the spatial arrangements. He had it in his own mind.”

Williams, the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, became known for building more than 100 memorials for Gold Star Families – those who lost a loved one in service to the country.

In his final days, Williams wanted to make sure the shelter was built. U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s state director, a veteran herself, originally asked Mills and Lance Muscara, Senior Project Manager, to work with Williams on the project.

“Mara Boggs in Senator Manchin’s office kind of connected the dots with us,” Mills said. “She’s a personal friend of Lance and mine, and said she has this amazing friend that has a vision, and said would we help conceptualize the vision? And once we knew who the friend was, well, no doubt, we would be honored to help.”

Mills added that Williams didn’t want the project to be about his legacy. Instead, he wanted it for the veterans and their families.