Corporal Williams was a member of the 70th Medium Tank Battalion, 24th Infantry Division. He was taken Prisoner of War while fighting the enemy in South Korea on 16 August 1950 and killed by a guard the following day.

Williams was awarded the Purple Heart, the Prisoner of War Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.