Today my walk was dedicated in honor of:
Marine SSGT Dwayne E. Williams, Age 28 of Baltimore, MD.
KIA Aug 24, 2006 Operation Iraqi Freedom
He was assigned to 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan
Dwayne had won the bronze star, and in recommending him for it, superiors cited his calmness and determination, his heroism and his constant “courage in the face of death.” He was to return to the United States in a month. Members of the Williams family had served in the military beginning with World War I. The family Web site shows pictures of the sergeant and two other Williamses who it said also served in the Marines in Iraq. He was an only child who left a mother and stepfather in Baltimore, had a wife and 4-year-old son in Warrenton, N.C. He graduated from Fairmont-Harford High School 10 years ago. The Marine Corps Web site published a 900-word article highlighting the work of Sergeant Williams and the four-member bomb squad he led. The article stated that Sergeant Williams, a Marine for nine years, had responded to more than 250 possible IEDs since he arrived in the “deadly corridor between Fallujah and Ramadi” in April. They jokingly called themselves Team Rogaine because Sergeant Williams said he suffered from random hair loss after each of his three deployments to Iraq.
He received the Bronze Star, Purple Heart.
SSGT is burried in the Arlington National Cemetery in Section 60
We had a great 5.81 Mile walk this evening. We walked by CCHS and then walked up town to the war memorial park. Got a later start then what I figured and we lost daylight about the last mile of the walk but we got to see the sunset. I want to thank my friend Robert for walking with me this evening and I want to thank everyone who honked, waved, and saluted in helping me honor this hero. We had an amazing 155 honks this evening.
Marine SSGT Dwayne E. Williams will not be forgotten.
