President Trump plans to award the Medal of Honor to two service members — a retired Navy captain whose Cold War dogfight remained secret for decades and an Army staff sergeant killed in Afghanistan — a White House official told CBS News.
The president phoned 100-year-old Navy Capt. E. Royce Williams and the family of the late Army Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis to notify them of the decision. The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest military decoration; roughly 3,500 people have received it since the Civil War.
Michael Ollis
Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis was killed in Afghanistan in 2013 after shielding a wounded Polish officer from a suicide bomber. According to the Army, a base was breached by a vehicle-borne bomb and attackers wearing suicide vests. Ollis found Polish Army Lt. Karol Cierpica wounded at the scene and, while administering first aid, placed himself between Cierpica and an insurgent. Ollis was killed when the attacker’s explosive vest detonated.
Ollis, a Staten Island native, had been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in 2019 for his actions. Then-Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said at the time, “Every generation has its heroes … Michael Ollis is one of ours.” Ollis’s parents, Bob and Linda, issued a statement through a nonprofit established in their son’s name saying they were “extremely grateful” and that knowing their son’s life and final act of courage have not been forgotten leaves them with “a feeling of overwhelming pride and eternal gratitude.”
E. Royce Williams
Capt. E. Royce Williams, now 100, is being recognized for a 1952 engagement off the Korean Peninsula that military accounts have called the longest dogfight in U.S. history. Flying during the Korean War, Williams and another American aviator encountered seven Soviet MiG-15 jets. Facing enemy fire, Williams returned fire; he struck one MiG, his wingman struck another, and Williams went on to down three more enemy jets over roughly 35 minutes while evading heavy return fire.
After sustaining damage to his aircraft, Williams landed aboard an American carrier at very high speed, later saying conditions had been too perilous to eject. For decades the engagement was classified and Williams was ordered not to speak about it; details became public only after the Soviet Union collapsed. He received the Navy Cross three years ago.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), whose district includes Williams, pushed for the pilot to receive the Medal of Honor. Congress last year cleared a waiver allowing the president to award the medal despite the typical five-year time limit for nominations. Issa said Williams “richly deserves” the honor and that his heroism “unquestionably saved the lives of his fellow pilots, shipmates, and crew.”
The White House official confirmed the president’s intent to bestow the Medals of Honor but did not provide a date for any ceremony.