President Donald Trump says he will bestow the Medal of Honor on Escondido war hero Royce Williams for the courage he displayed during the Korean War in taking on seven Soviet MiG fighter jets, shooting down four of them.
Trump made the announcement Tuesday afternoon in a phone call to Williams, who will turn 101 this spring.
“We’re going to put that very beautiful medal over his very strong neck,” Trump told Williams’ caregiver while he listened over a speaker phone. “It is the ultimate honor, so you’ve got to shake his hand for me.”
Williams told Trump, “This is wonderful. As you know, I’m quite an old man — 100 plus.”
Williams told the Union-Tribune Wednesday, “This is the fulfillment of a lifetime. I am so pleased.”
William’s moment of courage occurred on Nov. 18, 1952, while he and three other Navy pilots were flying their F9F-5 aircraft along the Yalu River, a demarcation line between North Korean and Soviet territories.
Two of the Navy pilots bolted from the scene. Williams stayed behind and engaged in a 35-minute fight that’s regarded as one of the most skillful acts of aerial warfare ever achieved by a U.S. Navy pilot.
At the time, the incident was not publicized because the Soviets were not directly involved in the war. Williams, a humble man, could not even tell his wife. The story remained unknown until the early 2000s when the U.S. declassified certain records from the Korean War.
Many veterans, military officials and politicians later lobbied the government to give Williams the Medal of Honor. He was awarded the Navy Cross — the Navy’s second-highest military honor — in 2023. That didn’t satisfy his supporters, who kept pressing for the higher medal.
The effort was led by Steve Lewandowski, a former San Diego resident who created Operation Just Reward to drum up support.
“After hundreds of hours of effort over the course of many years and the contribution of over a dozen individuals and so many barriers to overcome, we are so elated that this great American hero is finally going to get his just reward,” Lewandowski said Wednesday.
San Diego-area Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, who backed the effort, called Williams “a Top Gun pilot like no other, and an American hero for all time.”
“What Royce did is — still to this day — the most unique U.S.-Soviet aerial combat dogfight in the history of the Cold War, and one in which Royce Williams demonstrated indomitable courage of the highest skill under incalculable duress,” Issa said in a statement Wednesday. “It is my honor to have fought all these years for Royce to gain a recognition that he has not sought, but so richly deserves.”
The date of the Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House has yet to be announced.