Saying “It’s never too late to do the right thing”, Georgia’s Adjutant General, Major General Thomas Carden, presented medals to one of Chattooga County’s most well known World War II veterans – Mr. Hoyt Williams.

At ninety-six-years-old, Mr. Hoyt is known to the younger generation as a familiar face at Wal-Mart, where he continues to work, despite being several decades past the traditional retirement age.  Older folks remember him from his years in the family grocery business when he owned and operated Hoyt William’s Grocery Store for over forty years.

Williams had a distinguished military career, serving as an Army engineer in both the European and South Pacific Campaigns of World War II.  He was at the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France and served in Germany, Belgium and England leading up to the surrender of Germany.  Later he continued fighting for his country in the Philippines where he was stationed until the Japanese surrendered.

Due to an oversight, U.S. Army Technical Sergeant James Hoyt Williams never received his military metals.  Thanks to the work of local Veteran advocates Herb Skelton, Odell Anderson and Barbara Massey Reece, that oversight was corrected yesterday when Majory General Carden awarded Williams the European-African-Middle East Campaign Medal with Silver Star Attachment, the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, the Sharpshooter Badge and Rifle Bar, the Marksman Badge and Carbine Bar, the Honorable Service Lapel Button WWII, a WWII Victory Medal and Good Conduct Medal.