Quick rundown
In a move that sounds like it came from a movie script, the president announced plans to give the Medal of Honor to two very different heroes: a centenarian Navy pilot whose Cold War dogfight was kept hush-hush for decades, and an Army staff sergeant who gave his life to protect a comrade from a suicide bomber in Afghanistan.
Michael Ollis — the guy who jumped in front of danger
Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis was serving in Afghanistan when a vehicle-borne explosion and attackers wearing suicide vests struck his base. While helping a wounded Polish soldier, Ollis put himself between the injured man and an approaching bomber. The vest detonated; Ollis did not survive. His actions were later recognized with a Distinguished Service Cross, and now he’s slated to receive the nation’s highest military honor.
Family and friends have said they feel a mix of pride and relief that his bravery isn’t fading into the past — a fitting, if bittersweet, recognition for someone who quite literally saved another person at the cost of his own life.
E. Royce Williams — the century-old secret ace
Retired Navy Capt. E. Royce Williams, now 100 years old, is being honored for a jaw-dropping aerial showdown off the Korean coast during the early 1950s. Flying in a conflict-filled era, Williams and a fellow pilot encountered a swarm of Soviet MiG-15s. That chance meeting turned into a roughly 35-minute fight in which Williams is credited with downing several enemy jets.
Because the engagement involved American and Soviet forces at a time when neither side wanted an open war, the incident was kept classified for decades. Williams lived most of his life without telling the full story — not even to his wife — and only in recent years has that chapter of his service become public. He had already received the Navy Cross; the Medal of Honor is a further elevation of that legacy.
How this came together
The push to award these medals included lawmakers and local representatives who pressed for the honors, and special measures were taken so the review could move forward despite the usual time limits for Medal of Honor consideration. In short: paperwork, politics, and persistence combined to bring these two stories back into the spotlight.
Why it matters (and why it’s a little wild)
On one hand you’ve got a modern battlefield sacrifice that reminds us bravery isn’t always glamorous — it’s often messy and heartbreaking. On the other, you’ve got a cinematic Cold War dogfight that was literally too sensitive to talk about for decades. Putting them side-by-side makes for a strange but powerful reminder: heroism takes many forms, from split-second selflessness on the ground to nerve-of-steel aerial combat in the sky.
Parting thought
Whether you picture a pilot keeping quiet about a top-secret fight or a staff sergeant shielding another from a suicide bomber, these awards are the nation’s way of saying: we remember. And sometimes, long after the smoke clears, recognition finally catches up.
