Keller (1080 KRLD) - The last surviving recipient of the Medal of Honor from World War II flew from his home in West Virginia this week to Keller to speak at the city's Gold Star Families monument. The monument to families who have lost a relative in the armed forces was dedicated in November.
"This has a meaning that there are sacrifices required to keep us a free people," says Woody Williams, now 97. "It is the individuals who go into the armed forces who protect that freedom for all of us. We must have strong, fully-trained military people in order to protect that. We do have some folks in this world who would like to take us over, just as they wanted in World War Two. The cause is still there."
Keller dedicated the monument in November. Erin Stillinger, a high school sophomore who plans to enter the military after graduating, raised more than $100,000 in money and supplies for the project. She worked with Williams' foundation to build the memorial.
Williams was presented with the Medal of Honor for his actions at Iwo Jima in February of 1945. According to the Department of Defense, he was the only demolition sergeant remaining from his unit, "so, he bravely volunteered to go forward as the last flamethrower to try to quell the devastating machine-gun fire from the pillboxes."
"In four hours, with only four riflemen to protect him, Williams managed to wipe out seven pillboxes. He repeatedly prepared explosives in a safe area, struggled back to where the enemy was, and then set off the charges."
Williams was presented with the Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman in October of 1945. Williams says two of the riflemen were killed.
"They were doing it for other people. They weren't doing it for themselves," Williams says. "I wear this medal in honor of two Marines who sacrificed their lives protecting mine. I have said it belongs to them. I just wear it in their honor."
The Woody Williams Foundation has built Gold Star Families monuments in 49 states.
"It's a wonderful addition to the community," says Faye Beaulieu, a Bedford resident whose son died in military service. "It just gives those of us who have lost a loved one who was in the military the opportunity to reflect on what their sacrifice meant and to remember them, just to think about who they were and what a difference they made."
Beaulieu says the monument is a place where families who understand each other's loss can gather.
"I still have a little card my son filled out when he first went to the Air Force academy. 'What is your purpose?' And he said, 'To serve God and my country. To be the best I can be.' I will never let that go. It just means the world to me," she says.
The Gold Star Families monument is outside Keller Town Hall.