[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5909 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5909

  To authorize the President to award the Medal of Honor to E. Royce 
           Williams for acts of valor during the Korean War.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 5, 2021

   Mr. Issa introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To authorize the President to award the Medal of Honor to E. Royce 
           Williams for acts of valor during the Korean War.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) On November 18, 1952, then Lieutenant E. Royce Williams 
        and Combat Air Patrol Task Force 77 carried out an airstrike on 
        the Hoeryong industrial complex near the Korea-Russia border. 
        In response, seven Soviet MiG-15s launched from a Soviet base 
        near Vladivostok. Williams and three other US pilots flying 
        F9F-5 Panthers were dispatched from the U.S.S. Oriskany to 
        pursue the seven MiG-15s in blizzard conditions to engage over 
        the Sea of Japan.
            (2) When the Flight Leader's instruments reported a fuel-
        pump warning, he was escorted back to the U.S.S. Oriskany by 
        his wingman.
            (3) Williams and his wingman, Dave Rowlands, remained 
        airborne. Williams fired upon one MiG-15 and Rowlands followed 
        it out of formation, leaving Williams to pursue the remaining 
        six MiG-15s on his own. In his efforts, Williams expended all 
        of his ammunition and shot down four, very likely five, of the 
        seven Soviet MiG-15s, setting the American aviator record for 
        MiGs shot in a single sortie and the only naval dogfight over 
        water in the Korean War.
            (4) After sustaining a hit from a 37 millimeter shell that 
        disabled his electrical and hydraulic systems, Williams 
        underwent enemy fire while returning to the carrier as well as 
        friendly fire from escort vessels after being mistaken for 
        enemy aircraft.
            (5) Without rudders to slow his descent, Williams landed on 
        the U.S.S. Oriskany at a speed of 170 knots, miraculously able 
        to safely engage the number three wire.
            (6) Williams' aircraft sustained 263 holes and a foot-long 
        gash while the only injury sustained by Williams was a bloody 
        neck, chafed by his gear. Williams was told not to speak of the 
        events of that day by his commanders, and, at the time, was 
        only officially credited for one downed and one damaged enemy 
        in the fight.
            (7) Witnesses to this heroism were the first unit of the 
        then newly created National Security Agency, codenamed 
        ``Canoe'', aboard the USS Helena. Intercepting Soviet 
        communications, the unit recorded the transmissions that three 
        Soviet MiGs were shot down, and one pilot ejected his 
        compromised aircraft and then died. One aircraft returned to 
        base in Vladivostok.
            (8) At the end of the Cold War, Russia released the names 
        of the four pilots shot down in combat on November 18, 1952.
            (9) When Williams was awarded the Silver Star for his 
        actions on November 18, 1952, the drafters did not have access 
        to the top secret radio intelligence or the subsequent Russian 
        report released after the Cold War.
            (10) Williams served in the Navy for over 30 years, flew 
        over 220 missions in Korea and Vietnam, and retired in 1984.
            (11) E. Royce Williams deserves the Congressional Medal of 
        Honor for his heroic actions on November 18, 1952, when he 
        successfully eliminated four, likely five, of seven MiG-15s in 
        a far less superior aircraft during the 35-minute-long aerial 
        battle wherein he never once sought safety in the clouds or 
        abandoned the mission despite being outnumbered and outgunned.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR AWARD OF MEDAL OF HONOR TO E. ROYCE WILLIAMS 
              FOR ACTS OF VALOR DURING THE KOREAN WAR.

    (a) Waiver of Time Limitations.--Notwithstanding the time 
limitations specified in section 8298 of title 10, United States Code, 
or any other time limitation with respect to the awarding of certain 
medals to persons who served in the Armed Forces, the President may 
award the Medal of Honor under section 8291 of such title to E. Royce 
Williams for the acts of valor described in subsection (b).
    (b) Acts of Valor Described.--The acts of valor described in this 
subsection are the actions of E. Royce Williams, as a lieutenant in the 
Navy, on November 18, 1952.
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