Royce Williams of Escondido fought off seven Soviet MiGs during a dogfight in 1952 that he was sworn to secrecy about for more than 50 years. He's finally being recognized.
For more than 50 years, Navy pilot Royce Williams couldn’t talk about his epic Korean War dogfight with seven Soviet fighter jets. He’d been sworn to secrecy because of Cold War sensitivities, and all mention of the battle was scrubbed from the official records.
“The heroism and valor he demonstrated for 35 harrowing minutes 70 years ago in the skies over the North Pacific and the coast of North Korea saved the lives of his fellow pilots, shipmates, and crew,” U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa said in a statement Friday announcing the ceremony. “His story is one for the ages, but is now being fully told.”, launched almost a decade ago, to get the Pentagon to acknowledge Williams’ exploits and to upgrade his Silver Star to something more appropriate.
“For the first time, Royce is being officially recognized for that incredible air battle,” Lewandowski said. “That makes him happy. And it doesn’t preclude him from getting the Medal of Honor later.”On a wall in the home of veteran Royce Williams is a framed display of memorabilia from his long military career that spanned three wars. He’ll be adding a Navy Cross soon.
On Nov. 18, 1952, Williams was in a F9F-5 Panther jet patrolling the Yalu River, which separated North Korean and Soviet territories. The Soviets weren’t directly involved in the war, but they had planes in the sky, protecting their airspace.
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