ENCINITAS, Calif. (KGTV) – A local veteran is getting the honor of a lifetime.
Royce Williams, a 100-year-old Navy pilot, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
"Our post had the good fortune of having Royce with us for over the 10 years,” Peter-Rolf Ohnstad, District 22 Executive Board - American Legion, said.
“We all knew at some point in time, Royce Williams was going to get the Medal of Honor, and when he was going to get the Medal of Honor, we weren't sure. Because it was for u,s it was a 10-year process."
ABC 10News first told you about Williams being told he'd be given the Medal of Honor a couple of weeks ago. And that moment happened on Tuesday, for the entire world to see him receive the highest honor the military can bestow.
"People were so excited when they found out that they were going to give the Medal of Honor at the State of the Union address,” Ohnstad said. "The joy and the tears. It was, it was a spectacular night at this Post.”
A night that was special for anyone inside the American Legion Post 416 on Wednesday.
" I think so many people in this country watched that State of the Union last night, and I think the recognition is just amazing,” Ohnstad said.
The recognition for Royce Williams isn't done yet, as the folks here at Post 416 plan on renaming it after him. Something Ohnstad said is typically done for deceased veterans, but he hopes the name change will be accepted.
“We've already decided here at the executive board that we're going to go ahead and rename this post after Royce Williams, because it's a rare occurrence that anybody gets a Medal of Honor in the first place,” Ohnstad said.
“And then to have one that's a member of your Legion post. Really, he’s really a member of everybody in San Diego. This is a San Diego event."
