Congressman Issa Helps Secure Medal of Honor for Local Hero
Last night, President Donald J. Trump presented E. Royce Williams with the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary heroism during a secret Korean War mission, following years of advocacy by Congressman Darrell Issa, whose San Diego-area district includes Williams’ home.
Read more here or see excerpts below:
Trump awards Medal of Honor to 100-year-old veteran during State of the Union
CBS News
By James LaPorta, Jennifer Jacobs
President Trump honored a 100-year-old veteran Tuesday night by awarding E. Royce Williams the Medal of Honor for his actions in a secret mission during the Korean War.
This marks the first time that a president has awarded the medal, the U.S. military’s highest honor for valor in combat, during a State of the Union address.
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“Tonight, at 100 years old, this brave Navy captain is finally getting the recognition he deserves. He was a legend long before this evening,” Mr. Trump said. Williams stood, and first lady Melania Trump placed the medal around his neck.
Williams, a retired Navy captain, was part of the longest aerial engagement in U.S. Navy history when he fought seven Soviet MiG fighter jets, shooting down four, during a half-hour dogfight in 1952.
Soviet involvement was top secret at the time, so the records of the event were classified for decades. At the height of the Korean War, Williams and another American pilot were flying off the coast of the Korean Peninsula when they encountered seven Soviet miG-15 fighter jets. The Soviet aircraft opened fire, he would later recall: “Since they started the fight,” he said, “I shot back.”
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Williams has said that he was instructed to keep the airborne clash a secret — a rare and politically fraught confrontation between American and Soviet forces at a moment when the two Cold War adversaries were intent on avoiding open war. For decades, he spoke of it to no one, not even his wife.
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Republican Rep. Darell Issa of California, whose San Diego-area district includes Williams home, pressed for the retired Navy pilot to receive the Medal of Honor. Last year, lawmakers authorized the president to bestow the decoration, waiving the longstanding requirement that it be awarded within five years of the act of valor.
“The heroism and valor he demonstrated for more than 35 harrowing minutes almost 70 years ago in the skies over the North Pacific and the coast of North Korea unquestionably saved the lives of his fellow pilots, shipmates, and crew,” Issa wrote in a statement earlier this month.
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