Nearly a lifetime ago, E. Royce Williams took part in — and survived — a harrowing 35-minute aerial dogfight with Soviet jets during the Korean War that was part of a mission kept secret for decades.
On Feb. 24, Williams, who is now 100 years old, received the Medal of Honor and got special recognition from President Donald Trump in the State of the Union address for the 1952 battle in which he shot down four of the seven Soviet MiGs he encountered, ran out of ammunition and still skittered back to an American aircraft carrier.
Bipartisan lobbying from 30 lawmakers, some from the Armed Services committees in the U.S. House and Senate, including Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, and Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Arizona, helped ensure Williams received credit for an action with little documentation due to its initial secrecy.
“It’s something I’ve been following for a while. We got it into the defense bill. It was the right thing to do,” Kelly said in an interview with The Arizona Republic. “This guy did something that was incredibly heroic under really challenging circumstances, saved the lives of other people.”
Trump praised Williams near the end of his remarks, saying he survived “the dogfight of a lifetime.”
“His story was secret for over 50 years. He didn’t even want to tell his wife,” Trump said. “But tonight at 100 years old, this brave Navy captain is finally getting the recognition he deserves.”
Williams sat next to first lady Melania Trump, who hung the medal around his neck at the outset of a three-minute standing ovation. He pumped his fist during the acclaim.
When it ended, Trump joked about the Congressional Medal of Honor and alluded to receiving the Nobel Peace Prize he openly lobbied for from Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado.
“I always wanted the Congressional Medal of Honor, but I was informed I’m not allowed to give it to myself, and I wouldn’t know why I would be taking it. But if they ever open up that law, I will be there with you someday.”
The belated recognition for Williams is a dramatic upgrade over the Silver Star he originally received at the time and comes decades after the customary five-year period in which he was eligible.
Williams is a North Dakota native who now lives in the San Diego area. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California, initially led the effort to reopen Williams’ eligibility for the Medal of Honor.
“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 said in a statement.
The Nov. 18, 1952, incident pitting Americans against Soviets happened at the height of the Cold War, when such direct confrontations risked terrifying escalation.
For that reason, the Pentagon kept the matter secret until after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Williams, along with two other U.S. pilots, planned strikes on the North Korean city of Hoeryong.
It’s near the northeastern tip of North Korea, where the borders of China and the Soviet Union converged.
Instead, the Grumman F9F-5 Panthers encountered seven Soviet MiG-15s at 26,000 feet over the Sea of Japan. One of his fellow pilots quickly sustained a damaged fuel pump and headed back to the U.S. fleet. Soon, it was only Williams.
Facing seven enemy jets, Williams engaged in a 35-minute dogfight with Soviet opponents each carrying more firepower than his own.
“In the moment I was a fighter pilot doing my job,” Williams said in a 2022 interview with Task & Purpose, a military news website. “I was only shooting what I had.”
Williams’ jet was riddled with 263 holes from the battle and lost its hydraulics by the time he headed back to the USS Oriskany. He said in the 2022 interview that he considered ejecting, but didn’t like his chances of surviving in the frigid November waters.
“I knew in that weather I wouldn’t have survived in the time it took to find me,” he said.
Instead, Williams survived a high-speed landing on the Oriskany and kept a secret — even from his wife — until after the Soviet Union imploded.
In December 2022, the Navy upgraded Williams’ original commendation to a Navy Cross. The campaign to upgrade it again continued in Congress.
“Captain Williams’s feats of aerial combat valor against determined Soviet aggressors demonstrated unparalleled bravery in the skies above the Sea of Japan on that fateful November day in 1952,” the 30 members of Congress wrote in a May 2025 letter to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth.
An earlier review of the incident, they noted, established that “Royce engaged one-on-seven in the longest dogfight in U.S. history, that he shot down multiple Soviets with an inferior aircraft, and that he saved his ship and the lives of his fellow sailors that day.”
Kelly said he plans to meet Williams on Feb. 25, for what he called a “big freaking deal.”
“I think I’ve met four Medal of Honor winners in my life. I’m always happy when I can salute them. It’s a big deal.”