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 ri...