In “Top Gun,” Maverick’s dad was (spoiler alert) shot down after engaging a numerically superior enemy force and, in doing so, saved the lives of his wingmen. His bravery was kept secret because the action happened in airspace that the U.S. did not want to admit being in.
What’s really incredible is that this is basically the story of real-life Navy Capt. Royce Williams. Even more incredible is the fact that Williams survived.
Williams joined the Navy as an aviation cadet after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. By the end of World War II, he earned the designation of naval aviator. After training on the then-state-of-the-art F9F-5 Panther fighter jet, Williams deployed to the Korean War with VF-781 aboard the USS Oriskany, the same aircraft carrier that Maverick’s dad flew from.
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“I had a fair amount of training under my belt,” Williams told Fox News in 2023. “I was eager to do my part, and I didn’t, in any way, think it was going to involve shooting down enemy airplanes.”
In fact, Williams would go on to shoot down four enemy planes in a single engagement.
On Nov. 18, 1952, Williams and his wingmen were flying a combat air patrol just south of Vladivostok, in the Soviet Far East, and east of North Korea, when they were jumped by seven advanced Soviet MiG-15bis fighter jets. In their slower Panthers, the Americans were forced to disengage from the fight and return to the carrier…
… that is, everyone but Williams.
Over the course of the ensuing 38-minute dogfight, credited as the longest in U.S. history, Williams shot down four enemy MiGs. He demonstrated incredible airmanship and combat tactics to overcome the technologically superior planes. The remaining three Soviets fled.
He returned to the Oriskany with over 260 hits to his aircraft, including several 37mm cannon impacts. One cannon round even hit the cockpit, narrowly missing Williams. Out of fuel, ammo, and damaged from the intense dogfight, Williams skillfully landed his plane at over twice the designated safe speed.
Despite his heroics, the details of the engagement with the Soviets were quickly classified.
Royce Williams and his shipmates were sworn to secrecy. Gun camera footage from the American planes was confiscated by the brand-new NSA and conveniently lost. Even the official Navy After Action Report was sanitized due to pressure from Washington. Because the U.S. and USSR were already negotiating a ceasefire in the Korean conflict, politicians wanted to keep the dogfight and Soviet embarrassment quiet.
It wasn’t until 1992 that most of the engagement was finally declassified, and Williams was able to tell anyone (including his wife). For his actions, Williams was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Silver Star. Lobbying efforts to upgrade his award eventually led to the Navy Cross. Championed by Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-48), President Trump personally informed Williams on February 4, 2026, that he will receive the Medal of Honor.
“My friend, constituent, and hero Royce Williams is 100 years young, a Top Gun pilot like no other, and an American hero for all time,” Rep. Issa said in a press release. “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. His story is one for the ages, and it now has its rightful chapter as Royce receives the Medal of Honor.”
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