On February 16, 1953, Williams, flying as the wingman for John Glenn (later Astronaut then U.S. Senator), was part of a 35-plane raid against a tank and infantry training school just south of Pyongyang, North Korea. As the aircraft from VMF-115 and VMF-311 dove on the target, Williams' plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire, a piece of flak knocked out his hydraulics and electrical systems, causing Williams to have to "limp" his plane back to K-3 air base where he made a Belly landing. For his actions of this day, he was awarded the Air Medal.