CARLSBAD, Calif. (KGTV) – A red carpet lined the entry of a hangar to the tarmac. Chairs were set for and filled with dozens of people. It was the setting for a true hero’s welcome, and it was all for 100-year-old Navy Veteran Royce Williams.
“We're going to tell him we love him and we are so proud of him and this is a special day that he so deserves,” Chuck Speilman, a friend of Williams, said.
Williams landed in Carlsbad at Palomar Airport on Thursday afternoon after being at the State of the Union on Tuesday. It was then that he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
“This is a true hero's welcome, and it's so well deserved for a man who was a true hero, is a true hero, and waited 72 years for this moment,” Speilman said. “I brought a handkerchief, so I'll have to wipe my eyes for sure when that happens.”
Hundreds of people stood on the tarmac to hear what Williams had to say upon his return.
“It's a good group, and, after the State of the Union, he’s got a lot more fans now,” Martin Wilson, Williams’ chauffeur and friend, said.
Wilson said this is a moment that he and others close to Williams have been waiting decades for to finally happen.
“I think when Melania put that around his neck and he's, that smile, Laurie and I just got up and we're dancing and you know, we're all choked up,” Wilson said. “I'm just going, thank God, you know, and it was great. Christina was there taking care of him, and I'm just going, 'hey man, those are my people.'”
Royce Williams spoke with Congressman Darrell Issa, sharing memories of his past with the audience, and thanked all of those who were at the Palomar Airport to celebrate him.
“I have backing out here from amongst a lot of smiling faces, and I want you to know I appreciate it,” Williams told the crowd on Thursday.
Wilson said the next big to-do was to get Williams rested up after a long series of events celebrating his 101st birthday in the first week of April.
