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Bill to Allow Medal of Honor for 100-Year-Old US Korean War F9F Naval Aviator
US Representative Darrell Issa has proposed a bill to finally give the Medal of Honor for his heroic feat to Captain Royce Williams, 100, who single-handedly downed several Soviet MiG fighters in a secret, untold battle of the Korean War.
Because of Issa’s proposed legislation the Medal of Honor may be awarded for acts of valor above and beyond the call of duty that occurred decades ago.
According to Valley Road Runner, the Valor Has No Expiration Act extends and expands a key provision from the 1996 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that waived the five-year limitation for Medal of Honor consideration—but only for actions occurring between 1940 and 1990, and only for classified “intelligence activities.”
The arbitrary end date is removed by Rep. Issa’s bill. Moreover, it expands the criteria to include acts that were classified or withheld from public record. Current law states that servicemembers must be recommended and awarded within five years.
“Valor never expires – and neither should the opportunity for our bravest heroes to be recognized with our highest honor. There is no reason why those who went above and beyond are ineligible for the Medal of Honor due to an arbitrary time standard, when their true account may not be known or was kept classified for decades,” explained Rep. Issa.
Rep. Issa specifically cited his friend and constituent Royce Williams as both the inspiration and example of why the Act is necessary.
35-minute dogfight
On Nov. 18, 1952 US Navy F9F-5 pilot E. Royce Williams took off in his aircraft from USS Oriskany along with other three Panther drivers to intercept seven Russian MiG-15 fighters that were heading toward them from a Soviet base in Vladivostok.
US Intelligence reports believed that the MiGs were seeking revenge after Williams and other American aircraft had carried out an attack in northeastern North Korea near the Soviet border, early that morning.
The four F9F-5s took off in a blustery snowstorm. One of their jets suffered a fuel pump problem and had to turned back toward the aircraft carrier bringing his wingman with him as an escort, leaving Williams and his wingman Dave Rowlands to defend the carrier against the incoming MiGs.
A MiG fired on Williams and the battle was on. Since Rowlands’ guns jammed, Williams was the only Naval Aviator to attack the MiG-15s during the dogfight which lasted 35 minutes. Williams shot down 4 of the MiGs and another of the Soviet fighters crashed while returning to its base in Vladivostok.
After he shot down the first MiG, Williams couldn’t confirm his kills as he explained in 2020 to The San Diego Union Tribune. “I was too busy to start counting. I would fire at a plane and then someone else would be on my tail and I had to maneuver and I couldn’t tell what happened to the plane I shot,” he recalls.
Williams’ Panther was so badly damaged that it could only pitch up and down and had to perform a high speed landing to prevent stalling. His F9F was found with 263 holes afterwards.
Bill to Allow Medal of Honor: undiscovered, unknown, or unrevealed America’s heroes
The mission, which could have sparked an international incident and a major clash with the Soviet Union, was put under wraps. Williams was instructed by his commanding officer not to talk about it. So he didn’t.
While Williams heroic action was forgotten, one of the downed MiG pilots was later reported to be a decorated war hero.
“Captain Royce Williams – now 100 years young —is an American hero of the highest order. Every American should know his story and what he did on that day nearly 73years ago should go unrecognized no longer,” said Rep. Issa. “With this reform legislation, America’s heroes – whether undiscovered, unknown, or unrevealed – can be honored as they should. Acts of valor have no expiration date.”
Williams’ military decorations include the Navy Cross, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, Legion of Merit with Combat ‘V’, Bronze Star, two Meritorious Service Medals, eleven Air Medals, and numerous other combat and service awards accumulated over his three-decade career.
According to Alert 5, the pilot’s achievement stands as the longest air-to-air engagement in US military history and represents a unique chapter in Cold War aviation combat, where American and Soviet pilots engaged directly while their governments maintained the fiction that such encounters were not occurring.
Photo credit: U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force
