Korean War fighter pilot and Escondido resident Royce Williams will be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, it was announced Wednesday. Williams, now 100 years old and a retired Navy captain, will be recognized for facing off against seven Soviet MiG fighter jets in 1952, shooting four of th em down in the process and narrowly surviving amid extensive enemy gunfire to his jet. When the mission was over, they counted 263 bullet holes in his plane. Williams agreed to keep his heroics a secret because the Soviet Union was unofficially involved in the war at the time. He did so for over 50 years, until the story was revealed 2016. Until then, he had never revealed his role or the existence of the dogfight even to his wife or brother. But after Soviet records of the war were released and declassified decades later, which revealed Williams’ efforts, military veterans and elected officials led a campaign to ensure he was recognized. Williams was awarded the Navy Cross in 2023 and now will receive the United States’ highest military decoration. Williams was informed of the decision in a phone call from President Donald Trump earlier this week. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Bonsall, who was among those that campaigned for Williams’ recognition, said in a statement, “My friend, constituent, and hero Royce Williams is 100 years young, a Top Gun pilot like no other, and an American hero for all time. 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. His story is one for the ages and it now has its rightful chapter as Royce receives the Medal of Honor.” Telling his story Back in 2016, Williams told NBC 7 that he would never forget Nov. 18, 1952. “Here came four of them from the front side, all firing, and the others were coming around from the other side …we came in head on,” Williams remembered. “I saw bullets go over me and under me, then over me…. So the fight went on and on and on.” Williams ‘record-breaking feat never recognized or even known until the story broke in 2016. “I didn’t tell anyone, including my wife and my brother who’s a naval aviator — no one,” Williams said. “I had a meeting with President Eisenhower, and I didn’t even talk about that.” The weather was bad that day, with low clouds, heavy wind and snow, but that didn’t keep Williams from doing his duty. In his F9F-5 Panther, Williams took on the seven superior aircraft in a fierce dogfight lasting roughly 35 minutes. “When I take into account the level capability of the airplane, it was sort of like God giving David a task of Goliath – only I had seven Goliaths,” Williams said. “The aviation historians, the knowledgeable ones, will tell you without a blemish that this event by Royce was unmatched in the Korean War, was unmatched in the Vietnam War, unmatched ever since then,” Rear Admiral Doniphan B. Shelton (Ret.) said in 2016. “It stands alone all by itself as a really amazing situation.” Last year Shelton initiated the request to have Williams’ achievement re-reviewed through Congressman Duncan Hunter’s office along with the endorsements of two four star-admirals, Hays and Hayward. “There’s nothing wrong with the Silver Star that they gave him, believe me, that’s a wonderful award, but it’s not what he earned,” Shelton explained. At the time, Shelton said that if the record was known from the beginning, Williams would have received the Navy Cross or Medal of Honor, two awards he will now be recognized with. “I am the only person to have ever shot down four jets in one mission … and on my first mission at that … so I don’t know, maybe that qualifies,” Williams said back then about the possibility of the medals. “People say thank you for your service — I say thank you for letting me serve.” Nearly 75 years after his heroics, Williams, who has been dubbed “the forgotten hero of the forgotten war,” may just be a little closer to being remembered. ...read more read less