BARBOURSVILLE, W.Va. –A World War 2 veteran was honored in a big way Wednesday morning in Barboursville.
Woody’s Grandson Chad Graham during the dedication ceremony
The Woody Williams mural sits on a long wall inside the Huntington Mall facing the food court section, near one of the entrances to Macy’s.
Williams, a West Virginia native, was born on October 2, 1923, and is a veteran from the United States Marine Corps. He is known for the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945 when he was 21 years. From that he received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his valor in the over month-long battle.
Woody passed away at the age of 98 in June 2022.
The mural depicts Woody throughout his life, from having a picture with his wife Ruby and a picture of him receiving the Medal of Honor. Also, on the mural, underneath a picture of Woody, was the phrase “The Cause is Greater than I”, a phrase he was known for saying.
Chad Graham, grandson of Woody said that when he saw the mural he was speechless. He says that it shows who he was as a person.
“When I turned the corner and saw it, seeing images that really tell the story of his life and who he was, and they did an amazing job in capturing who Woody Williams was and I think to see the opportunity for so many folks to learn from the way he lived his life.”
The mural also features images of Woody himself, the Medal of Honor, a monument that says “Gold Star Families” to show his commitment to helping families who lost loved ones who died in battle or in support of certain military activities.
He helped those families by creating the Woody Williams Foundation and by attending nearly all of the Gold Star Families Monument dedications.
Graham said that while Woody would have been humbled to have the mural, he said he would have used it to keep spreading his message of “The Cause is Greater than I.”
“He always wanted the attention to be on others, but I know he would be very proud for this to be here, but he would really focus on the opportunity to spread that mission and really pass that on generation to generation,” he said.
With Williams being a native of the state, Graham said that it’s important to keep his memory alive in the state and community that shaped him.
“Hopefully that’s a piece of inspiration,” he said. “Talking earlier with some folks, that we in life try to emulate and we lift up these leaders that have shown us the way and Woody’s definitely that and it’s very much molded by where he came from which is this community and this wonderful, wonderful state.”
Graham talking about building bridges and that Woody was the type of person who was thoughtful and mindful of people who were coming behind him. He said he had the mentality of “leave it how you left it.”
“He was very much that and so I think this mural is a part of building that bridge and it’s from that 98 years, and he got every bit of juice out of the lemon, but he did it through helping others so hopefully this builds that bridge to another generation,” he said.
The mural was dedicated to Woody by the Cafaro Company that aims to bring retail development to malls around the country and it was painted by Natalie Nottingham, a graphic designer with the company.
Also, during the ceremony, it was announced that the mural wasn’t going to be the only place you see the name Woody Williams. Cabell County Schools Superintendent Tim Hardesty announced that the new Career and Technical Center that they are putting where the old Sears used to will be named the Woody Williams Center for Advanced Learning and Technology.