US pilot shot down four Soviet MiGs in 30 minutes – and kept it a secret
for 50 years

Royce Williams was a real-life “Top Gun” 10 years before Tom Cruise was even born.

On a cold November day in 1952, Williams shot down four Soviet fighter
jets – and became a legend no one would hear about for more than 50 years.

The now 97-year-old former naval aviator was presented with the Navy
Cross, the service’s second-highest military honor at a ceremony Friday
in California.

Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said on Friday that among the many
proposals he has reviewed to upgrade sailors’ awards, Williams’ case “stood out above all others. It was very clear to me that his actions
were truly extraordinary and more closely aligned with the criteria
describing a higher medal.”

“Freedom does not come cheap,” Del Toro said. “It comes through the sacrifice of all those who have and continue to serve in today’s
military. Your actions that day kept you free. They kept your shipmates
free in Task Force 77. Indeed, they kept all of us free.”

Here’s what Williams did to earn that honor.


https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/20/asia/korean-war-fighter-pilot-soviet-shootdown-intl-hnk-ml/index.html

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