 Louis. A. Williams was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan on August 26, 1931. After high school in 1949, he attended Michigan State Normal College. Having an adventurous spirit, he moved to San Francisco to continue his college studies at San Francisco City College. However, with the outbreak of the Korean War, he decided to enlist in the U.S. Navy in September 1952. In March 1953 he entered flight training at the Naval School of Pre-Flight at Pensacola, Florida, and was commissioned an ensign and designated a Naval Aviator upon graduation in September 1954. He then reported for duty at NAS Quonset Point, Rhode Island, and was assigned to his first squadron, VS-39. There he flew anti-submarine aircraft over the North Atlantic, the Caribbean, and the Mediterranean. During this time, deployments were made aboard the aircraft carriers USS TARAWA, USS LEYTE, USS ANTIETAM, and USS SIBONEY.
Subsequent tours of duty included being the first African-American flight instructor, an aircraft carrier combat information center officer, commanding officer of two airborne early warning squadrons (VAW 114 and RVAW-110), Commanding Officer of Naval Air Station Agana, Guam, Commander Training Atlantic Fleet, Commander Anti-Submarine Wings Pacific, and finally Deputy Commander-In-Chief of NATO forces surrounding Portugal and the Rock of Gibraltar. He received a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Business Administration from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California in 1975. After a tour of duty in Guam and the Pentagon, he was selected for the rank of Rear Admiral in February 1978. RADM Williams' medals and decorations include the Air Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal, the Joint Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal for service on Guam in support of the evacuation of refugees from Vietnam and for service following super-typhoon Pamela in May 1976. Stationed in San Diego as Commander Anti-Submarine Warfare Wings, Pacific, he was responsible for the aviation logistics for the scientific efforts conducted on the continent of Antarctica. RADM Williams' last tour of duty with the armed forces was a NATO posting outside of Lisbon, Portugal, as Deputy C1NCIBERLANT. Upon completion of this tour, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by the Portuguese government. On March 31, 1985, RADM Williams retired from the Navy after 32-1/2 years of active duty and was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal for sustained superior service. During the last 15 years in San Diego, RADM Williams enjoyed participating in numerous St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church activities and community service affairs. This included the Board of Directors of the National Senior Olympics, UCSD Epilepsy Center Associates, and the UCSD Chancellor's Associates. Between serving his church and community, RADM Williams was able to develop and maintain a love of hiking. From Mt. Whitney in the Sierra Nevada, where for 10 years he celebrated his birthday, to the peaks of the Himalayas, he traveled far and wide to fulfill his hiking passion. This passion took him to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa only 18 months after having undergone major cancer surgery. However, San Diego's Mission Trails Park System's Cowles Mt. remained the bedrock of his hiking devotion. This devotion and commitment was recognized when RADM Williams' Cowles Mt. friends erected a trailhead bench in his honor with a nameplate that named him "The Admiral of Cowles Mt." Even throughout RADM Williams' valiant 4-1/2 year battle with cancer, he never lost his passion for hiking. RADM Williams, predeceased by his son Kirk, is survived by his wife of 45 years, Faye, of San Diego, a son, Ivan, daughter-in-law, Erika, and two grandchildren, Teryn and Paige, of Foothill Ranch, California, in addition to his sisters, Ella Mae Robinson, Leona Washington, and Winfred Parker, and, brother, Harry Williams, all of Ypsilanti, Michigan. Lou won the respect and devotion of his many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Admired, respected, and loved by so many. Lou will be greatly missed but always remembered. (Notice and obituary provided by Bob Richards)
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