Death Before Honor

Death Before Honor

Many people know about the last surviving Iwo Jima Medal of Honor recipient, former USMC Cpl. Hershel “Woody” Williams. What few people realize, is that Williams almost murdered one of his Marines on Iwo Jima. Had he gone through with it, we would most likely not be discussing him today. 

The day after Williams performed the actions that resulted in his receiving the Medal of Honor, he moved his squad to Hill 283, which was in the middle of Iwo Jima. On 24 February 1945, he was ordered to dig in north of this position in preparation for attacking the second airfield. 

When he told his men to move out, one of them, USMC Pvt. Thomas E. Scrivens, refused. Williams yelled, “Come on Scrivens, get moving.” Scrivens said he could not. As Williams tells it, he became disgusted and lost his ability to be “rational, considerate and compassionate.” Seeing a Marine break down and refuse to keep fighting alongside his brothers infuriated Williams. 

He put his M-1 rifle to his shoulder and said, “Scrivens, I mean it. If you don’t get moving, I’ll shoot you myself.” Scrivens realized Williams would not let him drift behind the lines when his squad needed him, so he decided he could advance after all. 

When I interviewed him, Williams said he was so angry at the time, he would have shot Scrivens had he not taken his place beside his comrades. No one really knows what would have happened if Scrivens had not obeyed. If Williams believed Scrivens was unable to carry on due to combat fatigue, Williams might have sent Scrivens back for treatment. 

Iwo Jima survivor John Lauriello saw many such cases when he was a radioman behind the lines. He said they “had a frantic look in their eyes as if they were being chased by the devil.” 

USMC Correspondent Sgt. Dick Dashiell wrote: “One of the worst sights: The pitiful shellshock cases. They look like whipped dogs.” If Williams thought Scrivens was able to obey, but chose not to, he could have written Scrivens up for disobeying a lawful order, which could have meant some minor, non-judicial punishment by his commanding officer or even referral to a court-martial where Scrivens, if found guilty, would have faced a fine, reduction in rank, or even brig (military jail) time. Scrivens was entitled to consideration of the extenuating and mitigating circumstances, including his prior combat record as well as the stress of being in some of the toughest fighting for days with little rest. 

Ironically, Scrivens was removed from combat on 1 March due to “shell-shock/combat fatigue.” Williams had kept him in the game for a few more days, but eventually, Scrivens succumbed to the strain. The entire incident became little more than a story told to fellow veterans.

If he had shot Scrivens, Williams would have been in a world of trouble and faced serious charges at a court-martial. While the Axis powers and the Soviet Union lacked respect for justice, and the Imperial Japanese Army was known to behead deserters, America took the issues of due process and the rule of law seriously. 

Disobedience of a superior’s lawful order or deserting one’s duty in battle were general court-martial felony offenses in the Articles for the Government of the U.S. Navy (called “Rocks and Shoals”) applicable to Sailors and Marines. A properly convened court-martial could impose a sentence of a fine, reduction in rank, imprisonment, or even the death penalty for one found guilty. 

Williams, as a squad leader, had no authority to be judge, jury and executioner, and everyone was taught that at boot camp. Even minor punishment (no more than 20 days confinement) required action by a commissioned officer who was entitled to order a general or special court-martial. 

Even a summary court-martial, which could sentence an enlisted defendant to no more than two months in the brig and could order a man discharged, required a trial before three qualified officers with a court reporter, and gave the defendant an automatic appellate review after the trial. Williams had been taught that Scrivens, for disobeying an order could be “reduced [in rank]. Two years confinement, dishonorable discharge, and other accessories of sentence…” according to the legal education he got at Boot Camp in San Diego.

 Williams may not have remembered the exact consequence of disobedience, but he was taught that it typically entailed dire repercussions. 

On the other hand, if someone was suffering from combat fatigue or was somehow mentally or physically unable to carry out an order, that was a valid defense and charges should not be referred to a court-martial. 

Post-traumatic stress disorder afflicted at least 2,700 Marines on Iwo Jima who were removed from combat due to Shell-Shock/Combat Fatigue. This was not a system that allowed capricious, summary executions by a low-ranking NCO or condoned drum-head courts, but rather a system that guaranteed the accused a speedy and fair trial and looked after the afflicted. 

When Williams acted as he did, he was treading on thin ice. As it turned out, Scrivens and Williams were both able to fight and continued to make a contribution and to finish out 24 February with honor. 

War places so much stress on combatants they do things they later regret when they have time to reflect. In 1957, Scrivens went to Williams to apologize and asked, “Do you think you really would’ve shot me?” 

Williams answered, “Yes, I would’ve.” He said he would react differently as a mature adult, knowing all he does now, but after the horror he had experienced, being stressed out and sleep deprived, a high school dropout with no medical training and no real scientific understanding of the psychological effects of extended periods of combat on the ability to continue to function, he was appalled one of his men would abandon comrades in time of need. 

Williams remembers seeing some Marines crack up and never resume fighting, but they were not going to be him or his men. The possibility he might feel similarly despair scared him. “I kept repeating to myself, ‘I’m not going to die. I’m not going to die.’ I would never let myself think that I was not going to make it. I had to get back to that girl in Fairmont who I wanted to marry.

 That is what kept me sane.” These phrases, repeated in his self-talk, motivated him to move forward and removed the icy chill from creeping into his heart to create doubt and fear. 

Holocaust survivor and noted neurologist and psychiatrist Dr. Viktor Frankl recognized this phenomenon as the psychosocial concept of logotherapy, which holds that those who find meaning in life are the most productive and can survive horrendous events.

 Those who survived Auschwitz usually did so because they looked forward to seeing a loved one, enacting revenge or writing a book. They had a reason to live. Williams’ main reason was to get back to his fiancée Ruby (or maybe his married girlfriend Eleanore Pyles—he was dating both at the same time), and that goal kept him “sane.” Marines had choices, unlike Holocaust victims; however, both groups faced death under cruel circumstances on a minute-by-minute basis. 

Frankl observed that people who face life-threatening situations condition themselves mentally for something else in order to deal with staring death in the eye. 

In the end, Williams’ rash decision to point his weapon at a Marine to force him back in line, which he had no authority to do, may have convinced Scrivens not to quit. But it also could have impelled Scrivens to report Williams to their commanding officer, resulting in Williams facing disciplinary action.

 Scrivens, had he refused to get up and fight, might have faced discipline himself for disobedience, unless he was found to be medically unfit. Had Williams shot Scrivens, he would have been court-martialed instead of awarded the Medal of Honor. Fortunately, this difficult situation did not end in tragedy; Scrivens continued fighting. Knowing Willams’ infamous short temper, Scrivens was lucky he got back on the line. 

Was Williams right to threaten Scrivens when he was on the verge of losing his nerve after difficult, dangerous and exhausting combat? Viktor Frankl cautions, “No man should judge unless he asks himself in absolute honesty whether in a similar situation he might not have done the same.” 

There is an established legal procedure in the Corps for dealing with one accused of disobeying a lawful order, desertion or another serious offense. To many, it would have been the absolutely wrong decision for Williams to have patted Scrivens on the head, told him it would be all right, and permitted him to abandon the fight. Both would have suffered for such behavior, and no military can tolerate disobedience in the face of overwhelming violence. 

However, it certainly was not right for Williams, a 21-year-old high school dropout and low-ranking NCO with no medical or legal expertise, to shoot a Marine—even if he was sure the Marine’s conduct was criminal. Neither his company first sergeant nor his company commander had the right to shoot Scrivens. Not even USMC Commandant Alexander Vandegrift or US Navy Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz had the right to shoot a Marine who had violated regulations. Scrivens was an American warrior and as such had rights.

The ability to kill without thought in the moment is a necessity for a warrior if he wants to survive. The unwillingness to kill and support one’s unit causes nations to lose wars. Williams actions against the Japanese and his willingness to threaten Scrivens shows that Marines are conditioned to zero in on the task at hand—annihilating the enemy and making sure everyone in their squad was similarly focused. 

Scrivens’ fear was understandable after what his division had been through, but so was Williams’ concern about keeping his squad in the fight. Many reached a point where they could no longer function. It was up to the authorities to determine if Scrivens was ill or had committed an offense and, if he had, what punishment within the limits of Rocks and Shoals would be imposed on him. 

Do you believe Williams was justified in his actions? What would you do in the same situation? 

To read the entire story of Woody Williams experience on Iwo Jima, see “Flamethrower”: