A Story Long Untold

On April 4, 1925, the Williams family of Wilmot, South Dakota, welcomed a new son. He was named Elmer Royce Williams, and growing up he was known by his nickname, Royce. As he grew up he enjoyed fishing, playing hockey and just plain getting into mischief.

 

 

When Royce was 11 years old he began to dream of making the military a career. HIs original plan was to follow in his father's footsteps. His father fought in World War I as a machine gunner. College was not an option, so he worked really hard to earn the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. He thought this might be a way for him to qualify for the Naval Academy so that he could become a naval aviator.

 

Around that same time he met a pretty young girl by the name of Camilla "Cammie" Förde when he attended Sunday school at a Lutheran church. He was smitten by this young lass, but little did he know that she was "the one" until they were juniors together in high school. As they sat in school across from each other they began to play footsies.

 

 

At the age of 16, Royce's life was changed forever when the Japanese made a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. Both Royce and his brother aspired to become pilots, so he immediately joined the Minnesota State Guard, and as soon as he turned 17 signed up for the Naval Aviation Cadet Program (NAVCAD).

 

 

Royce remained stateside and began his Navy caeer in 1943 by first attending boot camp in Corpus Christi, Texas, and upon completion of his flight training earned his wings of gold in Pensacola, Florida, in 1945.

 

 

 

A Secret Story Long Not Told

 

 

He then learned to fly the Grumman F9F Panther carrier based jet fighter. It was the first jet-powered fighter aircraft to see air-to-air combat with the U.S. Navy.

 

 

A line drawing of the Grumman F9F-5 Navy jet fighter.

 

A U.S. Navy Grumman F9F-2 Panther of Fighter Squadron 112 (VF-112) "Fighting One Twelve" in flight.

 

 

Grumman F9F Panther Aircraft Specifications:

• Crew: 1 pilot
• Length: 38 feet 10 inches
• Wingspan: 38 feet
• Height: 12 feet 3 inches
• Empty weight: 10,147 ponuds
• Gross weight:  18,721 pounds
• Powerplant: 1 x Pratt & Whitney J48-P-6A turbojet with 6,250 lbf thrust
• Maximum speed: 579 mph @ 5,000 feet
• Cruise speed: 418 mph
• Range: 1,300 miles
• Service ceiling: 42,800 feet
• Armament:
  • Guns: 4 x 20mm AN/M3 canon with 760 rounds
  • Hardpoints: 8 with a capacity of 3,465 pounds

 

A Story Long Untold

 

During Royce's long navy career he served through both the Korean War and the Vietnam War, during which times he flew a total of 220 combat missions. By the conclusion of his time in the Navy, Elmer Royce Williams had risen to the rank of U.S. Navy Captain.

 

 

After World War II, relations between the United States and it's ally, the Soviet Union, became quite tricky. The Soviets, under Joseph Stalin, took a hard line towards the United States, and so the stand off became what is known as "The Cold War." Over the years after 1945 more and more problems arose between the US and the Soviet Union, inclduing the blockade of access to East Berlin, the development by the Soviets of atomic bombs, and eventually the Space Race.

 

 

After the end of World War II the United States found itself embroilled in the Korean War in 1952 when North Korea invaded South Korea. Williams was deployed to Korea following the outbreak of war in June of 1952. By then Lt. Williams was serving aboard the aircraft carrier the USS Oriskany, and as a member of USN Fighter Squadron VF-121.

 

 

On November 18, 1952, Lt. Royce Williams and his wingman launched from the USS Oriskany, along with an additional pair of Grumman F9F pilots, were sent out on a combat air patrol near North Korea. Shortly after returning to the carrier they were launched on another combat air patrol mission near Hoeryong, North Korea. His group of four pilots climbed out to 12,000 feet over Hoeryŏng, North Korea when they spotted a flight of seven Russian Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-15s above them. Unfortunately, the flight leader and his wingman had to return to the carrier due to an issue with a fuel pump.

 

 

A photograph of a Russian Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-15 Fagot in flight.

A photograph of a Russian Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-15 Fagot in flight.

 

 

MiG-15 General Specifications:

• Crew: 1
• Length: 33 feet 2 inches
• Wingspan: 33 feet one inch
• Height: 12 feet 2 inches
• Empty weight: 8,115 pounds
• Gross weight:  11,120 pounds
• Max takeoff weight: 13,461 pounds
• Powerplant: 1 x Klimov VK-1 centrifugal-flow turbojet with 5,950 lbf thrust
• Max speed: Mach 0.87 at sea level
• Cruise speed: 530 mph
• Range: 1,570 miles
• Service ceiling: 50,900 feet
• Armament:
  • 2 x 23 mm Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 autocannons in the lower left fuselage
  • 1 x 37 mm Nudelman N-37 autocannon in the lower right fuselage
  • Hardpoints: 2, with provisions to carry combinations of:
    • 220 pound bombs
    • Drop tanks, or unguided rockets

 

 

Williams and his wingman climbed up to 26,000 feet where they were soon shot at by the Russian MiGs. His wingman managed to break away from the encounter and return to the USS Oriskany, and before he knew it Williams was in the dogfight of his life against 7 MiGs! Williams later said that he was mentally engaged at the time, a lot of which was his awareness of his position, and how to outmaneuver to avoid them.

 

 

Williams figured, becasue they were taking turns going after him, that he if concentrated on shooting them down one at a time it would make him an easy target. So, his initial thought was to look for defensive opportunities when they made mistakes. 

 

 

Most pilots faced with similar circumstances use their training and run off, if the could. Most dogfights last only a few minutes; this one, however, continued for an excruciating 35 minutes, making it the longest dogfight in the history of the US Navy. Williams is confirmed to have shot down four of the MiGs, and he believes he hit two others. By the end there were just himself and one MiG pilot left.

 

 

But, Williams airplane had taken a hit and his hydralics were damaged by cannon fire from one of the MiGs. None the less, Williams was able to break off and made it back to the USS Oriskany. Upon landing Williams was unijured, but his Grumman F9F-5 had caught 263 bullet holes.

 

 

After a 35-minute dogfight, Royce Williams was able to safely return to the USS Oriskany (CV-34).

 

 

Nobody knew about Royce Williams' heroism. Despite his incredible dogfight, the US military decided to keep it a secret. It was thought that the Soviet Union was not involved in the Korean War, and Navy brass believed that if the story got out, the Soviets would decide to get involved. Williams himself was sworn to secrecy for more than 50 years, until the records were declassified in the early 2000s. Despite the records being sealed in the US, those on the Soviet Side were released in the 1990s, following the collapse of the USSR. In those records it was confirmed that out of the seven MiGs to take off that day, only one returned.

 

 

Despite the fact that William's dogfight was a success, and that it was classified, he did receive a Silver Star. In January 2023, at the age pf 97, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro upgraded Williams Silver Star to a Navy Cross, the service's highest military decoration.

 

 

Righting A Wrong

 

While the general public knew nothing of William's success, those within the Navy certainly did. Following his career in the Navy until 1980, at which time he retired as a Captain. He flew 110 mission during the Vietnam War, and from 1969 to 1971 served as Captain of the USS Eldorado (AGC-11). Overe the course of his career he received the Silver Star, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, 11 Air Medals, a Bronze Star, two Meritorious Service Medal and the Legion of Merit with Combat "V," among others.

 

 

Many believed that Williams should have received the Medal of Honor, and a group called Operation Just Reward, have sought to have Williams awarded the Medal of Honor. U.S. Representative Darrell Issa (R-Calif) is working with the groupd, and was optomistic that the Senate and House of Representatives would approve it.

 

 

For those of us who watched President Donald Trumps' 2026 State of the Union speech, we were able to see 100 year old Capt. Williams receive his Medal of Honor at long last.

 

 

E. Royce Williams, retired Captain USN, receives Medal of Honor at SOTU 2026.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this trip through some of the history of aviation. If you enjoyed this trip, and if you are new to this blog, sign up to receive your own weekly blog post here: Subscribe here!

 

 

Until next time, keep your eyes safe and focused on what's ahead of you, Hersch!

Until next time, keep your eyes safe and focused on what's ahead of you, Hersch!