The recognition of American heroes constituted perhaps the most telling highlight of President Trump’s State of the Union Address last night. Among them was Royce Williams and the award of a long overdue Medal of Honor for his display of valor during the Korean War. Kate Odell notes it in the Wall Street Journal column “A Medal of Honor for Royce Williams.” Earlier today Tom West of Hutchinson, Minnesota wrote us to draw attention to the story also told by Odell:
Just so you know, Medal of Honor recipient E. Royce Williams has Minnesota roots. He was born in Wilmot, South Dakora, but moved to Clinton, Minnesota, near Ortonville, at age 11. His dad owned the grocery store there. He graduated from Clinton High School and from the University of Minnesota.
If you look him up on the Internet, you find he was in a dogfight during the Korean War with one other jet against seven Soviet MiGs. It is thought to be the longest dogfight in aviation history — 35 minutes. Afterward, he was interviewed by admirals, the Secretary of Defense, and President Eisenhower. He was told to keep the encounter secret because the higher-ups were afraid that if it became public, it would trigger World War III.
The truth came out after the Cold War ended. Soviet archives revealed that only one of the seven MiGs made it back to base. Those were Soviet pilots in Soviet planes. The dogfight occurred only about 40 miles from the North Korea border with the Soviet Union.
I took an interest in Williams’s story because I served under him as a new ensign 56 years ago on the U.S.S. Eldorado, LCC-11. I was a new ensign and he was captain of the ship.
Look it up. It’s quite a story.
Our old friend Leo Thorsness engaged in what seems to have been a similiar dogfight and related heroics that led to his recognition with the Medal of Honor upon his return from the Hanoi Hilton in 1973 (citation here). I think Leo’s dogfight went some 50 minutes. His Medal of Honor was kept secret, too, in this case for fear that the Communists would aggravate the conditions of his confinement if they knew of it. Leo told his own story in Surviving Hell, kept in print by Encounter Books with an introduction by me. I would only add that the gallantry he displayed upon his capture seems to me to rival the gallantry he displayed on his Medal of Honor mission.
Thanks to Mr. West for his service and his message. In any event, ladies and gentlemen, let’s give it up for Royce Williams.
CORRECTION: Thinking about Leo Thorsness when I posted Tom West’s message about Royce Williams above, I inserted the “Air Force” instead of “Navy” as the branch of the jet accompanying Williams on his Medal of Honor mission. Mr. West served under the command of Williams in the Navy. Of course, he knows what branch Williams and his colleague were serving in at the time of the dogfight. The mistake was mine. Please accept this correction and my apology. More here
