Operation Just Reward: The Campaign to Get Royce Williams the Medal of Honor

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, word of Royce Williams’ exploits began to leak out, and the story received another boost in 2002 when the records from the Korean War were officially declassified.

The campaign to secure Williams the Medal of Honor, however, truly began in 2014 when retired Rear Admiral Doniphan Shelton of Del Mar became aware of Williams’ feat, describing Williams’ heroism that day as “unmatched in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, or since.”

For years, Shelton worked to persuade the Navy or Department of Defense to recommend Williams for the Medal of Honor, compiling a comprehensive 110-page dossier detailing exactly why Williams deserved the honor.

The biggest obstacle was a lack of primary source evidence — considered crucial when it comes to awarding the military’s highest honor — and Shelton’s request was rejected not once but twice by Navy and Department of Defense Award Boards.

There was gun camera footage from Williams’ aircraft and radio recordings of events that day, but seven decades later neither could be located.

That is when Shelton, who was nearing 100 years of age and who would pass away in 2021, turned to his Del Mar neighbor and friend Steve Lewandowski for help. At the time, Lewandowksi was the Commander of the San Dieguito American Legion Post 416 in Encinitas, where Shelton was a member.

Knowing about Shelton’s rejected requests, Lewandowski decided to take a different approach. He rebranded the effort Operation Just Reward, and adopted a far more political and media-oriented strategy than the one Shelton had been using.

Relying on Legion members and their networks of contacts, over the past six years they have spent countless hours making phone calls and knocking on doors to build support.

That hard work paid off, resulting in signatures of support from 126 admirals and generals.

The cause gained further momentum when two members of Post 416 introduced a resolution at the American Legion National Convention, leading to national-level backing through the Legion’s Office of Legislative Affairs. “That really opened a lot of doors on both sides of the political aisle,” says Lewandowski.

And though there was no primary source evidence in the United States, Operation Just Reward emphasized to senators and congressmen that Soviet records and historians confirmed the fact that six of the seven MiGs Williams faced never returned to base. They was no reason to doubt their accounts.

In 2022, Congressman Darrel Issa introduced a House Resolution to award Williams the Medal of Honor, and enlisted the support of Secretary of the Navy Carlos del Toro. Del Toro visited Williams in San Diego, and in 2023, Williams received the Navy Cross, the Navy’s highest honor, during a ceremony at the Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park.

Even after that recognition, Operation Just Reward continued to advocate for the Medal of Honor, which was finally confirmed this week, on February 3, when President Trump personally phoned Williams to deliver the news.