President Trump plans to award the Medal of Honor to a retired Navy captain whose daring faceoff with Soviet fighter jets remained secret for a half-century and a soldier who died in Afghanistan while protecting somebody from a suicide bomber.
Mr. Trump called Navy Capt. E. Royce Williams and the family of deceased Army Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis to inform them of the decision, a White House official told CBS News.
The Medal of Honor is the U.S.’s highest military award, with around 3,500 people receiving the medal since it was introduced during the Civil War.
Michael Ollis
One of the newest recipients is Ollis, who was killed in Afghanistan after physically shielding Polish Army Lt. Karol Cierpica from a suicide bomber.
The base in Afghanistan where Ollis was stationed was breached by a car bomb and a group of fighters wearing suicide vests on one day in 2013, according to the Army. Ollis discovered a wounded Cierpica after approaching the blast site and, while performing first aid on the Polish soldier, an insurgent approached them. Ollis then moved between the insurgent and Cierpica and died when the suicide vest detonated, the military has said.
Ollis, a Staten Island native, was given a Distinguished Service Cross in 2019, with Gen. James McConville saying at the time: “Every generation has its heroes … Michael Ollis is one of ours.”
Ollis’ parents, Bob and Linda Ollis, said they are “extremely grateful” in a statement by a nonprofit founded in their son’s honor.
“Knowing that Michael’s life, legacy and final act of courage have not been forgotten leaves us with a feeling of overwhelming pride and eternal gratitude,” the parents wrote.
E. Royce Williams
Another new medal recipient is 100-year-old Williams, who shot down four Soviet MiG-15 jets during a once-secret 35-minute confrontation that the military has described in the past as the “longest dogfight in U.S. military history.”
In 1952, during the Korean War, Williams and another American pilot encountered a group of seven Soviet jets while flying off the coast of the Korean Peninsula. The Soviets began firing, he said in the past, and “since they started the fight, I shot back.”
He hit one of the MiG-15s, and the other American plane followed it. Then, on his own, he shot another three Soviet planes, dodging hundreds of rounds of fire, according to descriptions of the fight that have been published by the U.S. military in recent years.
“In the moment I was a fighter pilot doing my job,” Williams told news outlet Task & Purpose in a 2022 interview. “I was only shooting what I had.”
After Williams’ plane was hit, he flew back to an American aircraft carrier and landed under high speed, later saying he felt the frigid conditions were too dangerous for him to eject himself.
Williams says he was told to keep secret the airborne U.S.-Soviet firefight, a rare military faceoff between two Cold War archrivals who sought to avoid direct war with each other. He didn’t discuss it with anybody for decades — including his wife.
The operation eventually became public in the decades following the fall of the Soviet Union. Williams was awarded the Navy Cross three years ago.
Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of California, whose San Diego-area district is home to Williams, has pushed for the retired Navy pilot to be awarded the Medal of Honor. Last year, lawmakers authorized the president to grant him the medal, overriding the usual requirement that Medal of Honor recipients get the award within five years of the act that justified it.
Issa wrote in a statement Wednesday that Williams “richly deserves” the recognition.
“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,” Issa wrote.
