An incoming Marine earned the opportunity of a lifetime when his great-grandfather, a Medal of Honor recipient for service during World War II, welcomed him into the corps.
Cedar Ross is the great-grandson of Hershel “Woody” Williams, 97, the last living Medal of Honor recipient from World War II and a retired chief warrant officer. He visited Parris Island, South Carolina, on Friday to watch Ross and 350 other Marines graduate.
“The only advice I think I gave him was to do the very best that he could and then do a little more,” Williams said Monday.
Former President Harry Truman gave Williams the award in October 1945 for his heroism during the Battle of Iwo Jima with the 3rd Marine Division.
Legendary Marine Hershel “Woody” Williams, who at 97 is the last living WWII Medal of Honor recipient, is back on base at Parris Island for graduation.
After conquering boot camp himself, he’s now passing the torch to his great-grandson in a ceremony for the ages. pic.twitter.com/hT1oU1yB1s
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) June 21, 2021
During his service, Williams cleared a path for infantry where a network of reinforced concrete pillboxes blocked ground troops from proceeding forward.
“Covered by only 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,” the award citation said.
Williams also destroyed seven Japanese machine guns 75 years ago by moving “to the rear of hostile emplacements.”
Ross was nearly halfway through his boot camp training when instructors realized he was the descendant of the last living WWII Medal of Honor recipient.
“The chief drill instructor told me, ‘Ross, you’re gonna have big shoes to fill.’ And I said, ‘Yes sir,'” Ross said. “Thankfully, I wear size 15.”
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After enduring a 13-week training program, Ross was promoted to private first class.
