On May 7, 1941, at 24 years of age, Williams enlisted into the U.S. Army. Assigned to the 29^th Infantry Division, 116^th Infantry Regiment, Company A, he reported to Fort Meade, Maryland. He later trained at Camp Patrick Henry in Virginia Camp Blanding, Florida.

He pitched for the 116^th Infantry Regiment’s Yankees, winning the 1943 European Theater of Operations (ETO) World Series along with his teammates and fellow service members. In a time of unending war and chaos, Williams and his teammates brought smiles to faces that were blackened by dirt, gunpowder, and the horrors of war.

On June 6, 1944, the 29^th Infantry Division was called upon to aid the world’s largest amphibious invasion. Williams arrived near Normandy’s beaches on the HMS Empire Javelin, along with many of those that we know as the Bedford Boys. As part of the first wave, he was crucial to establishing a foothold on Omaha Beach and capturing Vierville Draw. The western half of Omaha Beach was assigned to the 116^th Infantry Regiment.

Vierville Draw was the westernmost of the five beach exits necessary to bring troops and equipment inland. With a hard-surface road, Vierville Draw was the best of the beach exits. The invasion plan was to attack these exits directly, hoping for a quick and easy capture with minimal casualties. An air attack from heavy bombers and a naval bombardment was supposed to leave any surviving German defenders dazed and confused.

In reality, the naval bombardment was short and mostly ineffective against German defenses, which were well-hidden and often positioned to rake the beach with little exposure from the seaside. The heavy bomber bombardment was even more disappointing. With low visibility in the early morning and with the bombers approaching directly across the beach instead of along it, the airmen released their bombs late for fear of killing the men coming to the beach in landing craft. The bombs fell on empty farmland far inland, leaving the beach defenses untouched. The landing craft was loaded and launched ten miles out due to concerns of German artillery. Low, early morning visibility hindered the men steering the landing craft ashore, which, combined with rough seas and strong currents, meant that many units landed in the wrong places. Rough seas also played havoc with two battalions of duplex drive tanks, tanks with canvas screens for flotation, and propellers for propulsion. With the duplex drive tanks mostly out of action, conventional Sherman tanks landed from landing craft were left to carry the load.

Of the 155 men who landed with Company A, 91 were killed that day, and all but 15 were wounded. Bedford, Virginia, was home to 19 of those killed, including two brothers, Raymond and Bedford Hoback. Captain Taylor Fellers of Bedford and every one of the men who came ashore from his boat was killed in action. Company A’s survivors fell back to the surf, behind obstacles, or behind the tanks. Maurice Williams likely died in this chaos.

The 29^th Infantry Division completed the mission with help from the 113^th Engineer Battalion. The infantrymen climbed the bluffs to attack German forces from the rear while the engineers destroyed the concrete wall bocking the draw.

Amid all the chaos and artillery fire, Staff Sergeant Maurice M. Williams made the ultimate sacrifice on the beaches of Normandy.