“Woody Williams embodied the best of America: living a life of duty, honor and courage,” said Pelosi, D-Calif.
Schumer, Democrat of New York, called Williams “an American hero who embodied the best of our country and the greatest generation.”
Williams, who died on Wednesday aged 98, was awarded the Medal of Honor after serving at the Battle of Iwo Jima and displaying “brave devotion to duty”. President Harry Truman presented the honor to Williams in a ceremony at the White House on October 5, 1945.
The Medal of Honor is the United States’ highest award for military valor.
At a memorial service Sunday in Williams’ native West Virginia, Sen. Joe Manchin announced that he had received a call that morning informing him that Williams would be honored in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.
Manchin, a state Democrat, praised Williams as someone who “never stopped giving back” by raising money for Gold Star Families with an annual motorcycle ride.
“He’s raised hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Manchin said Sunday, adding, “It’s not going to stop, because Woody would come after me in a heartbeat.”
Manchin said he would miss Williams’ phone calls, joking how Williams would instruct him on how to do his job.
“I’m going to miss him telling me how I should vote. And when I didn’t, how I was wrong,” Manchin said.
CNN’s Jake Tapper contributed to this report.
