O. Preston Williams

Preston Williams,79, passed away in the early morning of June 24, at his home in Jonesboro. He is survived by his devoted wife, Gayle, to whom he would have been married for sixty years on August 25, and sons Brent and Brandon. His son Blake predeceased him in 2018. His three sons blessed him with three daughters-in-law, thirteen grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Brent and Elli gave him Christopher (wife Demetra), Nicholas, and Alexander (wife Natalie) and one great-grandchild on the way. Brandon and Sheila gave him Merrick, Rhys, Jake, Liv, and Shaw. Blake and Emma gave him Norah, and step-grandchildren Bethany, Lilly, Ryan, and Nathan, and step-great-grandchild Tahali. Preston was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas on August 8, 1942 to parents, Oler Preston (O.P.) and Hortense Williams. He had two brothers, Gene (Linda), and Sterling (Cay), two nephews and two nieces. He graduated from Pine Bluff High School in 1960 and from Arkansas State University in 1964 with a B.S. degree in Business Administration. After receiving a college degree, he was commissioned through R.O.T.C. into the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant. His first tour of duty was to Berlin, Germany, when it was behind the Iron Curtain before the Wall came down, and his last assignment in the military was back to Germany to Ansbach, Bavaria, where he received the Meritorious Service Medal for his work in intelligence, contributing substantially to the maintenance of effective combat readiness of "Old Ironsides" in the defense of Europe. Preston served two tours of duty in Vietnam in combat forces during the Vietnam War. He was promoted to Captain on 1 January, 1967 while serving as the assistant brigade S2, 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division. During May of that year, he was assigned as Commander of Company "C" 3/22 Infantry Regiment. He has maintained close ties with his men through the years and attended many reunions of C/3/22. His unit experienced some of the hottest fighting of the Vietnam War. For nine straight days after taking command of Company C, he had engaged the enemy in numerous firefights in the Michelin Rubber Plantation and the famed "Iron Triangle." On 6 June, 1967, Captain Preston Williams, not quite twenty-five years old, distinguished himself in a search and destroy mission north of Ben Cui. As two of his platoons were moving forward, they were suddenly hit by an estimated company-size force, employing claymore mines, small arms, anti-tank rockets, and automatic weapons fire. Captain Williams immediately deployed three of his four platoons abreast for maximum firepower. With complete disregard for his own safety, he moved from one position to another to effectively direct and evaluate supporting fire, including an airstrike placed on entrenched enemy positions within 150 meters of his frontline platoons. Although completely exposed to the intense enemy fire, he continued pressing the attack, while maneuvering his company. During the intense two hour battle, Company C suffered 27 casualties or one-fourth of the rifle company. In spite of these losses, Company C successfully overran the enemy base camp. Captain Williams' gallant, heroic actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service, reflecting great honor upon himself, his unit, and the U.S.Army. He was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action and will be buried with honors at Arlington. In addition to the Silver Star and the Meritorious Service Medal, Major Preston Williams earned the Purple Heart, four Bronze stars, the Army Commendation Medal, Airborne Wings, Expert Infantry Badge, Presidential Unit Citation, a Combat Infantry Badge, a National Defense Service Medal, four Overseas Service bars, the Vietnam Gallantry Cross, a Vietnamese Staff Service Medal, a Vietnam Campaign Medal, and the Army of Occupation Medal for service in Berlin. He was inducted into the ASU-ROTC Hall of Heroes and his name inscribed on the monument at ASU for receiving the Silver Star. After his military career, Preston and Gayle returned to Jonesboro and started Christmas Village, a wooden Christmas ornament and nutcracker manufacturing company. He later owned and operated Vowels Printing and Office Supplies and then the Print Factory. He returned to ASU to earn an MBA and an MS in Computer Technology as a certified Novell Network Engineer and taught at ASU for a number of years. For the last twenty years of his life, Preston has been building their Bavarian-style home, from the ground up, inside and out. A master woodworker, he refurbished old-growth fir, reclaimed from the floor of a railroad depot in California, and handcrafted the finely-decorated wood ceilings and intricate woodwork throughout the house, as well as more than one thousand outside balcony balusters. He was a member of Magnolia Road Baptist Church in Jonesboro, where he cooked the Wednesday night suppers for many years. Preston was a congenial person with a great sense of humor, who will be remembered most for his creativity, his integrity, his leadership, and his strong resilience against whatever problems came his way. He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. A memorial service will be held at Magnolia Road Church Sunday, August 14, 2022 at 10:45 am with Emil Williams officiating. A graveside service will be held at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia on Tuesday August 23, 2022 at 3pm.