Editing Battle of Iwo Jima (section)

==Medal of Honor recipients==
{{Main|List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Battle of Iwo Jima}}
[[File:Harry Truman congratulates Hershel Williams on being awarded the Medal of Honor.jpg|thumb|Harry Truman congratulates Marine Corporal Hershel Williams of the Third Marine Division on being awarded the Medal of Honor, 5 October 1945.]]
The [[Medal of Honor]] is the highest [[Awards and decorations of the United States military|military decoration]] awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed on a member of the United States Armed Forces who distinguishes himself by "...&nbsp;conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States&nbsp;..." Because of its nature, the medal is commonly awarded posthumously.

The Medal of Honor was awarded to 22 Marines (12 posthumously), and 5 were presented to sailors, 4 of whom were hospital corpsmen (2 posthumously) attached to Marine infantry units. The medals awarded for the battle accounted for 28% of the 82 awarded to Marines in World War II.<ref name=MOHSTAT>{{cite web |access-date=6 March 2008 |url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/mohstats.html |title=United States Army Center of Military History Medal of Honor Citations Archive |work=Medal of Honor Statistics |publisher=[[United States Army Center of Military History]] |date=16 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809030651/http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/mohstats.html |archive-date=9 August 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

At the time of his death on 29 June 2022, Marine [[Hershel W. Williams]] was the last living Medal of Honor recipient from World War II.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Carroll |first1=David |title=Local World War II veteran & Medal of Honor recipient Charles H. Coolidge dies at 99 |url=https://www.wrcbtv.com/story/43622304/local-world-war-ii-veteran-and-medal-of-honor-recipient-charles-h-coolidge-dies-at-99 |website=WRCB |date=7 April 2021 |access-date=19 September 2021 |archive-date=7 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210407182346/https://www.wrcbtv.com/story/43622304/local-world-war-ii-veteran-and-medal-of-honor-recipient-charles-h-coolidge-dies-at-99 |url-status=live}}</ref> He received his medal for actions in the Battle of Iwo Jima.