After serving nearly 20 years in the Navy, many enlisted sailors might opt for an easy assignment for their so-called twilight tour. But that was not why James E. Williams joined the Navy. He joined in 1947 because he thought getting paid to serve your country was possibly the greatest thing he could ever do. Over the course of the next 20 years, Williams would eventually become the most decorated enlisted sailor to ever serve in the U.S. Navy.
Born in 1930, Williams was a South Carolina native who convinced a county clerk to fudge the date on his birth certificate so he could enlist in the Navy at 17.
Early Career and Naval Beginnings of James E. Williams
After graduating from basic training in San Diego, he became a Boatswain’s Mate. He didn’t get the adventurous assignment he wanted from his first Navy enlistment, but he did learn a valuable lesson that would carry him through the rest of his career.
“I’d got orders to an [landing ship, tank] that just sat around a buoy in the San Diego harbor,” he told All Hands Magazine in 1998. “An old chief told me, ‘Son, you got to learn to take orders, even if you disagree with them. That’s the first step to being a good sailor and a good leader… discipline was the springboard that helped my Navy career. From then on, I had the sharpest damn knife and the shiniest shoes in the Navy.”
He finally got the adventure and service he wanted when the Korean War broke out in 1950. Williams was sent to the Korean Peninsula aboard a destroyer. He would get his first taste of naval warfare aboard small vessel raiding parties detached into North Korea. Williams also served aboard cargo ships, repair ships, and a light cruiser during his two decades in the Navy. The bulk of his awards, however, came from his time in Vietnam.
Heroism on the Mekong River During the Vietnam War
By 1966, he had 19 years of service and was nearly ready for retirement but by then, a small conflict in the far away country of South Vietnam was heating up. Williams could have avoided going if he wanted to, but he didn’t want to; that’s the kind of sailor he was. Instead of shirking away from combat duty and retiring, he volunteered to go to Vietnam – where he racked up the Navy’s highest awards after less than a year in-country. His efforts at fighting North Vietnamese and Viet Cong attacks while interdicting enemy supply movements were second to none.
Awards and Legacy of James E. Williams
Williams received three Bronze Stars, a Silver Star, and the Navy Cross for his actions while leading three river patrol boats (PBR) on the Mekong River. He also received two Navy and Marine Corps Medals, the highest non-combat medal the Navy can bestow. His resolve in combat was so steady and so trusted, he was given command of three boats and allowed call in helicopter air support while operating in the river.
This would be critical to his success later on when he and his shipmates began fighting for their lives while they and their PBRs were terribly outnumbered. At no time was that more apparent than on Oct. 31, 1966.
Serving as boat captain and patrol officer aboard PBR 105 that day, Williams led his men against two enemy sampans, a kind of flat-bottom wooden boat used on the river by the Vietnamese.
After killing the crew of one, he chased down the other but was led right into a flotilla of enemy ships in waiting: two junks and eight sampans. Small arms fire from the banks was also overwhelming. He didn’t waver for a second.
That sounds like a lot. Williams was outnumbered, and he knew it, but that was also just the beginning. He called for helicopter support and began fighting the other ships. As the floating battle raged on, he soon realized he was facing a much larger enemy force than he thought. He could not wait for the helicopters and decided to head right toward the Viet Cong ships. Through intense enemy fire, he and his men damaged or destroyed 50 sampans and seven junks – all before the helicopters arrived.
Once his air support arrived on scene, Williams began directing the helicopters’ fire toward the remaining enemy boats as well as the armed men on the shoreline of the river. Altogether, they destroyed 65 enemy boats and killed more than a thousand enemy troops. Through it all, Williams was like a rock, a solid non-commissioned officer.
He retired from the Navy in 1967 as the first sailor to receive the Navy’s top seven awards. On top of the aforementioned awards, William also received the Legion of Merit (with Valor Device), a Navy Commendation Medal, a Navy and Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation with one service star, and three Purple Hearts. He received the Medal of Honor from President Lyndon B. Johnson after his retirement, on May 14, 1968.
James E. Williams died at the age of 68 on Dec. 13, 1999, and was laid to rest with full military honors at the Florence National Cemetery in Florence, South Carolina. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS James E. Williams was named in his honor.
Read About Other Profiles in Courage
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Having served in the Vietnam war for 11 months as part of the US Army 121st. Light Infantry Brigade I have nothing but respect and admiration for the valour of this truly great American hero. May he rest in peace.