Medal of honor recipient tells Boy Scouts: Freedom is most important thing we have

HOWLAND — Freedom, the most precious thing you can ever have, is handed to you when you are born in the United States, Medal of Honor recipient Marine Chief Warrant Officer Hershel “Woody” Williams told scouts and scout leaders at today’s Friends of Scouting Breakfast fundraiser.

Williams, who earned the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on Iwo Jima during World War II for knocking out seven fortified pillboxes, was keynote speaker for the event at Leo’s Ristorante.

Williams, who grew up on a dairy farm in West Virginia, said he was with the Civilian Conservation Corps in Montana when the leaders told the workers about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

“None of us had every heard of Pearl Harbor. They told us America had been bombed and Americans killed, but when they said our freedom was threatened, that made the difference,” said Williams, who requested his release from the CCC and went home and enlisted in the Marine Corps.

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