Marine Corps Coordinating Council of Kentucky

Like the individual whose memory this award honors, the recipient thereof need not have any Marine Corps affiliation. For over 30 years, Rodney Williams, Jr., through his long time employment with the University of Louisville, ultimately serving as its Alumni Director, provided logistical, administrative and moral support to Marine Corps officer re... cruiting efforts, forging a lasting friendship with the late Colonel Rich Higgins, USMC, who in 1971 served as OSO, University of Louisville. Rodney Williams, Jr. was self-sacrificing and devoted to the young people of our armed forces, without an agenda or expectation of remuneration or recognition. Perhaps it was his way of serving his country. Through his relationship with Colonel Rich Higgins, who in February 1988 was abducted, and later tortured and murdered by Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, he came to know and love the Marine Corps. Through the years, Rodney Williams, Jr. developed a passion for the OSO Mess Night, which was established by Colonel Rich Higgins in part to honor his Miami of Ohio University roommate 2nd Lt Terry Graves, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism during the Vietnam War. Without the dedicated support provided by Rodney Williams, Jr., this wonderful annual evening celebrating Marine Corps customs and time honored traditions, may have come to pass with the eventual reassignment of Colonel Rich Higgins. Recognizing and admiring the unique and passionate bond of friendship and respect which existed between Colonel Rich Higgins and 2nd Lt Terry Graves, his former college roommate and fellow Marine Corps officer, Rodney Williams, Jr. labored to ensure the OSO Mess Night would endure through the years as a testimony to the requisite skills of leadership, which he hoped to reinforce or instill in youth. During the ensuing years, as various OSOs were assigned to the University of Louisville, it was Rodney Williams, Jr. who provided the impetus for the annual OSO Mess Night. Throughout his life, Rodney Williams, Jr. was a ...Read More