Silver Fox Twin Roy: Bringing Back My Brother’s Golf Tournament — And Picking Up My Mother’s Torch
Updated: Sep 16
After an eight-year hiatus, the Major Dwayne Williams Memorial Golf Classic returns November 9 in Trussville
By Silver Fox Twin Roy Williams- Birmingham, Ala.
For the past 25 years, I’ve made it my mission to keep telling the story of my oldest brother, Army Major Dwayne Williams, who was killed at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.
But this story isn’t only about Dwayne. It’s also about my mother, Pearl Williams.
And it’s about picking up a torch she carried for more than a decade.
The golf tournament is coming back
I’m excited — and honestly a little emotional — to announce the return of the Major Dwayne Williams Memorial Golf Classic. After an eight-year hiatus due to my mom's health challenges that digressed to where she is bedridden and battling Alheimer's in an Anniston nursing home , we’re bringing the tournament back.
See details below:
What: Major Dwayne Williams Memorial Golf Classic
When: Monday, November 9, 2026 (2 days before Veterans Day)
Where: Silos Golf Club
7905 Roper Road
Trussville, Alabama, 35173
Ph (205) 655-2095
8 a.m. shotgun start
The tournament is presented by the Take the Day Back Williams Legacy Foundation and will benefit the Major Dwayne Williams Scholarship at Jacksonville State University and the Major Dwayne Williams Scholarship at University of North Alabama.
The cost is $125 per player, with four-person teams.
That includes:
18 holes of golf
Lunch
Swag bags
Giveaways
We will also have the following:
A hole-in-one contest
Putting contest
Longest drive contest
We’ll also have silent auction items available.
For golf, sponsorship or donation information:
Roy L. Williams (205) 572-1359 roywillwrite@gmail.com
Will you help me bring it back?
The Major Dwayne Williams Memorial Golf Classic is just getting started.
I’m looking for:
Golfers
Hole sponsors
Businesses or individuals willing to donate silent auction items.
And I’m excited to announce that Birmingham Coca-Cola Bottling United is our first sponsor.
But there’s a much bigger reason I’m bringing this tournament back.
This is something my mother started
Before Take the Day Back became what it is today, my mother was already helping make sure Dwayne’s name and legacy lived on.
After Dwayne was killed on 9/11, Mom established a scholarship in his memory at Jacksonville State University.
She also led a golf tournament for more than 10 years to help support that scholarship.
Mom wasn’t just the mother of a fallen Army Major. She led our family in carrying his legacy forward. For more than a decade, she did the work.
She organized.
She raised money.
She brought people together.
She made sure students could benefit from a scholarship carrying her son’s name.
And then Alzheimer’s began taking her health and her ability to continue that work.
The tournament eventually went away.
For eight years, there was no Dwayne golf tournament.
And now Mom doesn’t remember Dwayne
This is the hardest part for me.
Just days ago, I wrote about facing a painful new reality with my 84-year-old mother.
On September 11, 2026 — 25 years after Dwayne was killed — I hosted “Jacksonville Salutes a Hometown Hero,” honoring my brother in his hometown.
A few hours later, I drove to Anniston to visit Mom at her nursing home.
I had spent the morning remembering Dwayne.
Talking about his life.
Talking about his military service.
Talking about the sacrifice he made.
And then I sat with my mother and realized something I never wanted to face:
Mom no longer remembers Dwayne.
The son she carried.
The son she loved.
The Army Major who died at the Pentagon.
The son whose death changed our family forever.
Alzheimer’s is stealing those memories from her.
I wrote about that experience in my recent Silver Fox Twin blog, “Silver Fox Twin Roy Faces a New Reality: Alzheimer’s Is Stealing My Mom’s Memories of Losing Her Son.”
And that experience has made bringing this tournament back even more meaningful.
I can’t control what Alzheimer’s takes from Mom
But I can help carry forward what she started.
That’s what this golf tournament represents to me.
It’s not simply a new fundraiser.
It’s a continuation.
Mom started the work.
Now I’m picking up the torch.
And I want this tournament to honor both of my family’s legacies:
Dwayne’s legacy of military service and sacrifice.
And Mom’s legacy of making sure his life continued to help others.
Why Trussville?
When I began looking for a place to bring the tournament back, Trussville felt like a natural fit. Dwayne’s bronze bust is located at the Alabama Fallen Warriors Monument in Trussville, which honors Alabama service members killed in the War on Terror.
I’ve also held two Take the Day Back 9/11 tribute concerts in the Trussville Entertainment District, helping raise money toward Dwayne’s bronze bust.
I’ve seen firsthand how much the Trussville community supports veterans and patriotic causes. And there’s something familiar about that to me.
I grew up in Jacksonville, Alabama, near Fort McClellan, where military families were part of everyday life. So when I look at Trussville, I see some of the same community spirit that I remember from my hometown.
When I found Silos Golf Club, they welcomed the idea with open arms.
It felt right.
Dwayne’s scholarship continues
There’s an important family connection to Jacksonville State University.
While Dwayne graduated from the University of North Alabama, my identical twin brother Troy and I, along with our mother Pearl, are Jacksonville State graduates.
Mom established Dwayne’s scholarship at JSU that is presented annually. to seniors from my alma mater, Jacksonville High School. Now I want to help continue that legacy.
Golf is the vehicle. Legacy is the mission.
I'm not bringing back the golf tournament simply because I love golf. I have never played, but do plan to buy a set of clubs and learn with my wife Patrice so we can compete next year.
I’m bringing it back because Mom can’t do it anymore.
I’m bringing it back because Dwayne’s story still matters.
I’m bringing it back because a scholarship can turn someone’s memory into an opportunity for someone else’s future.
And I’m bringing it back because I believe we can take something painful and use it to do something positive.
Remember.
Honor.
Serve.
Carry the Legacy Forward.
A final thought about Mom
Mom may not remember Dwayne anymore.
She may not remember the golf tournaments.
She may not remember the scholarship she created.
And she may not remember the incredible work she did for more than a decade to keep her son’s legacy alive.
But I remember.
Troy remembers.
Our family remembers.
Jacksonville remembers.
And I hope this tournament becomes another way for others to remember, too.
Because Alzheimer’s may be taking Mom’s memories.
But it cannot erase Dwayne’s legacy.
And it cannot erase the work she did to build it.
Army Major Dwayne Williams
The nation remembers how he died in the Pentagon terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. But we will never forget how he lived.
I'm Taking the Day Back.
For golf, sponsorship or donation information: contact
Roy L. Williams (205) 572-1359 roywillwrite@gmail.com
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