Charles Quincy Williams (September 17, 1933 – October 15, 1982) was a United States Army major and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for heroism above and beyond the call of duty as an Army Special Forces second lieutenant in the Vietnam War.
Biography
Williams joined the U.S. Army from Fort Jackson, South Carolina in 1958. After serving as a NCO and paratrooper in a heavy weapons Company, he later attended Officer Candidate School and by June 9, 1965 was serving as a Second Lieutenant with the 5th Special Forces Group.
On that day, in Dong Xoai, Republic of Vietnam, the Special Forces camp where Williams was the executive officer of a Special Forces "A" Team, was attacked by a Vietcong regiment. As the battle raged through the night and into the next day, Williams was in command of the camp which consisted of two compounds after the Special Forces commander was badly wounded. He coordinated the defense and, eventually, the evacuation of the wounded from the camp which included besides the Special Forces compound, the district headquarters compound. He was wounded four separate times during the fourteen-hour siege on the camp. He was subsequently promoted to First Lieutenant and, on July 5, 1966, he was presented the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle.
Williams reached the rank of major before leaving the Army in 1978. He died at age 49 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington County, Virginia.
Williams was featured in the Medal of Honor Special comic written by Doug Murray and published by Dark Horse comics. The comic was a special edition of the series Medal of Honor, published April 1, 1994. The title was sanctioned by the United States Congressional Medal of Honor Society. The issue features Lt. Williams along with another Medal of Honor recipient Cpl. Desmond Doss. The comic depicts the wartime experience of Williams during the event in which he earned his Medal of Honor.
Medal of Honor citation
First Lieutenant Williams' official Medal of Honor citation reads: