Families on the Front Lines: A Tradition of Service, Sacrifice

For some families, serving America is in the blood, and it passes from generation to generation.

Hershel “Woody” Williams was awarded a Medal of Honor in World War II and is proud of his grandson Harry Casey, who was an Army medic in Desert Storm. Larry Bailey Sr., a 30-year-Navy vet, understands the challenges faced by his son Larry Bailey II, a former U.S. Marine severely wounded in Afghanistan.

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Leon Burgess’ service in World War II inspired six women — his daughters and granddaughters — to join the military. And Gumersindo Gomez saw combat as a soldier in Vietnam, then saw his son Giovanni serve in Iraq. They share their stories of duty, honor and sacrifice.

The Williams/Casey Family
(Marines, Air Force, Army)

Hershel “Woody” Williams, now 96, of Ona, West Virginia, is one of four surviving Medal of Honor recipients from World War II. In 1945, the young Marine used his flamethrower to wipe out several Japanese pillboxes in an assault on Iwo Jima, a battle 75 years ago that lasted from Feb. 19 to March 16, 1945.

The iconic photo of six U.S. Marines raising the U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima was taken Feb. 23, 1945. When the battle ended, about 6,800 Marines died and 19,200 were wounded.

Woody’s grandson Brent Casey, 50 at the time of this interview and son of Air Force veteran Harry Casey, served as an Army medic in Desert Storm, the Persian Gulf War. 

Why they served

Woody: When Pearl Harbor happened, I’d never heard of Pearl Harbor. I really didn’t know much about what I was getting into.

In the Marines, the emphasis was that we must win this war and we are going to win it. Everybody supported the cause because we knew it would take the whole population to win.

Women were working in factories, building airplanes and tanks and trucks. There was nobody I ever heard of who didn’t support the cause.

War in this country had never happened like that. And it has never happened like that since. 

Brent Casey served in the Gulf War.

Photo courtesy Brent Casey

Brent: I’m the only one of five kids who went into the military, as a medic in the Army. My father and grandfather being in the military certainly played a role in my decision.

I wanted to serve my country and see the world. The college benefits, which I definitely capitalized on, also attracted me. I was due to get out in September 1990, but when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August, I was no longer getting out.

I knew Iraq was over there somewhere around Saudi Arabia. In the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein and Iraq were basically going into Kuwait and wiping it out and making the country theirs. In my mind, that’s not how the world works.