Medal of Honor Celebration: A Tribute to Royce Williams
Saturday, March 21, 2026
Free & Open to the Public
USS Midway Museum Flight Deck | Facebook Live
10:00 a.m. PDT (guests must arrive by 10:20 a.m. PDT)
Join the USS Midway Museum for a special public ceremony honoring retired Navy Capt. Royce Williams, a decorated U.S. Navy fighter pilot whose extraordinary courage and service to our nation will be recognized with the Medal of Honor.
This commemorative event will bring together distinguished guests, community members, veterans and supporters to celebrate Capt. Williams’ remarkable legacy and his enduring contributions to naval aviation history.
Guests will enjoy a moving program featuring remarks from honored speakers and patriotic music performed by the U.S. Navy Band.
Ceremony Highlights
- A tribute recognizing the heroic service of Capt. Royce Williams
- Remarks from Representative Darrell Issa (CA-48)
- Remarks from USS Midway Museum CEO Terry Kraft
- Remarks from Mt. Soledad Memorial Association Executive Director Neil O'Connell
- Remarks from Vice Adm. Douglas Verissimo, Commander, Naval Air Forces
- Patriotic musical performance by the U.S. Navy Band
- A flyover tribute
We invite the public to join us aboard Midway or virtually via Facebook Live as we honor a true American hero and reflect on the courage, sacrifice and service represented by the Medal of Honor.
About Royce Williams
It was something out of Hollywood movie. A young Navy pilot flying life-and-death missions during the Korean War, takes on seven Soviet MiG-15 fighters in aerial combat, and comes out victorious in an unprecedented one-man dog fight.
This is exactly what happened to Lt. Royce Williams, an F-9 Panther fighter pilot with Fighter Squadron 781 (VF-781) flying from the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany (CVA-34) in November 1952.
Royce and three of his squadron mates were launched from the Oriskany to intercept the Russian aircraft heading towards them from an airbase in Vladivostok. Over the course of 35 minutes, Royce, through one of the most skillful demonstrations of flying in military history, shot down four of the MiGs and likely damaged two others.
Out of ammunition and with his aircraft heavily damaged, Royce then limped back to the carrier making a difficult high-speed landing while the ship pitched violently in heavy seas. Royce emerged from the cockpit amazingly uninjured, however, his aircraft was not so lucky. His squadron’s maintenance crew counted more than 260 bullet holes in the jet. Deemed unrepairable, the Panther was pushed over the side into the cold dark ocean.
Politics soon entered the picture. Because the Soviet Union was not officially a combatant in the Korean War, it was feared that publicizing this incredible aviation feat would draw the Russians further into the conflict. With Cold War sensitivities in play, the decision was made at the highest level of U.S. government to cover up the dogfight. Royce was sworn to secrecy. For decades, he told no one about the mission, not even his wife.
It wasn’t until the Korean War records were declassified 50 years later that the world heard, for the first time, about the extraordinary and heroic performance of Royce Williams.
