Joe Gonzalez - Feature Veterans Series - Mickey Strand - Veterans Series

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The Veterans Portrait Series.

Mickey is a retired Navy Photographers Mate, Chief Petty Officer, and was the Leading Chief of the Navy's elite Combat Camera Group Pacific. Mickey's current focus is the Veterans Portrait Series, which documents veterans' stories of service. He is focused on our Worlds' Greatest Generation. The Heros of World War II. 

Mickey interviews each Veteran, collecting and writing their service stories, archiving these notable historic figures and their stories for generations to come. Mickey has collected and displayed images and stories from over 100 warriors that at one point, signed the dotted line when our country needed their sacrifice of service most.  Mickey continues to collect Veterans from all services for the Veterans Portrait Series. In 2019 this body of work was displayed at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre Museum from Nov 11, 2019 — to March 1, 2020.

Mickey and the project were in the national spotlight, featured on the Sunday Today Show with Harry Smith Today Show Link to YouTube.  See the Google 360 Virtual walk through from the Palm Beach Museum Exhibit. Enjoy, and thank you for your help with this project. In 2022 Mickey photographed over 25 more WW2 Veterans and will be hosting a print show in San Diego in November with an open house on Veterans Day. Today we continue to capture the Ledgends of service of great American heros. 

Featured Veteran

Royce Williams

Captain Elmer Royce Williams
United States Navy
Captain - Pilot / NFO
World War II - Korean War, Vietnam
Medal of Honor recipient
Ace of the 38th Parallel

Captain Elmer Royce Williams, a Medal of Honor recipient, reflected on his extensive 37-year military career, which began when he enlisted during World War II and spanned several branches of service. After completing rigorous naval aviation training, he piloted aircraft such as Corsairs and early jet fighters during the Korean War, notably surviving an intense dogfight against Soviet MiG jets. Despite injury restrictions that prevented him from continuing as a pilot, he continued to serve in leadership roles, including commanding air wings, serving as a Naval Flight Officer, and holding significant positions, including the first inspector general for the Pacific Command. His experiences highlight a lifelong dedication to the military, culminating in his retirement as a Navy Captain after decades of diverse operational and administrative assignments.

 Elmer Royce Williams served 37 years on active duty from 1942 to 1980. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy (after serving in the Minnesota Army National Guard). Captain Williams grew up in Wilmont, SD, and Clinton, Minnesota, and during the Great Depression, his father used his WWI bonus to move the family to Clinton, buying a storefront to set up a grocery store with living quarters in the back. Royce attended school in Clinton and graduated from high school in 1943. At age 11, he met his future wife of 67 years, Camilla Pearl (Cammie), while attending Sunday school. They had three sons together, Bruce, Craig, and Mark.

 Royce enlisted in the Minnesota National Guard while in high school and attended boot camp at Camp Ripley, MN. He enrolled in the Naval Aviation Cadet program in 1942/1943 and attended Navy boot camp in Corpus Christi, Texas, before completing a two-year flight-training pipeline. This training included Flight Preparatory School (Corpus Christi), War Training School (Conway, AR & Murray, KY, flying N2S Stearman biplanes), Pre-flight at the University of Georgia & Memphis, TN, and Basic/Advanced Flight Training at NAS Pensacola, FL (flying SNJs and SBD Dauntless dive bombers), receiving his Naval Aviator wings in mid-August 1945. Royce later earned a 4-year degree at the University of Minnesota and attended the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

 He completed operational training at Opa-locka (Miami), Florida, and became carrier-qualified on the USS Ranger (CV-4). He was then assigned to a Hellcat squadron on the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42) in Norfolk, Virginia. Shortly after, he transferred to a Hellcat squadron on the USS Princeton (CVL-23) to return the body of Philippine President Manuel Quezon to the Philippines. He flew out of Tillamook, Oregon, for gunnery training before his Grumman F8F Bearcat squadron transferred to NAS Jacksonville, FL, making another South Pacific cruise.

 Royce reported to NAS Miramar and was assigned to VF-781 Pacemakers, flying Grumman F9F-5 Panther jets off the USS Oriskany (CVA-34) in 1952. On November 18, 1952, he engaged seven Soviet MiG-15 fighters alone off North Korea for a 35-minute dogfight, the longest dogfight in U.S. Navy and military history, shooting down/hitting multiple MiGs and surviving 263 shrapnel holes in his jet before escaping into the clouds and landing back on the carrier. The NSA and Navy classified the incident as top secret for decades. Williams was awarded the Silver Star, which was upgraded to a Navy Cross in 2023. In 2026, his award was upgraded to the Medal of Honor. 

 During the Vietnam War, Royce served as CAG-11 Air Wing Commander and Qualified as a Naval Flight Officer (NFO) in F-4 Phantoms. He was stationed at the Pentagon (OpNAV): Executive Assistant to the Director of Naval Aviation (OP-05); helped change Title 10 federal law in 1968 to allow NFOs to assume command of operational units. His other senior Leadership Roles included the Navy Director of Prisoner of War Matters, Commanding Officer of the Pacific Command ship USS El Dorado (LCC-11), first Inspector General for CINCPAC, and Chief of Staff for Commander Western Pacific (COMWESTPAC) in Japan. Captain Williams retired in 1980 after completing 37 years of active duty service.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Where can I donate?

I have created a way to accept donations to grow the project, use the WWII Veterans Portrait Series
Please email

Where are you located?

I live in the San Diego area but have traveled to many locations to interview and photograph Veterans.


How Long is an Appointment?

Appointments usually last 1 hour.
But please free up time for Mickey to set up lights and cameras, hold the interview, and take some photographs for the project.

Do you accept reservations?

Yes is the simple answer to the question.  Each appointment is set up as an individual session. Group sessions have been set up when I visited a senior living facility and the California Veterans Homes.

Copyright © 2025 Mickey Strand – Veterans Series
United States Army Private First Class World War II Joe Ray Gonzalez, Private First Class, was born on April 22, 1926. He was 96 years old when we first met. He said his lucky number is 96. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II as an infantryman with the well-known 96th Infantry Division, also known as The Deadeyes. Joe enlisted on September 18, 1944, and attended boot camp and initial training at Camp Roberts before joining the 96th. The Deadeyes served in campaigns along the Pacific front, including the Battle of Leyte on an island in the Philippines, the Ryukyu Islands, and later the landings and battles on the Island of Okinawa, where Joe joined the Deadeyes, who earned the Presidential Unit Citation for their efforts during that battle. Joe joined the 96th Infantry on April 12, 1945, the 12th day of the 82-day Battle of Okinawa, as one of more than 12,000 replacement troops supporting the battle. He remembered that his first miserable night on the island was spent in a foxhole. Only the companionship of his fellow Mexican service members helped him get through that tough first night. Joe earned his Combat Infantry Badge (CIB) on May 22, 1945, and was relieved of combat duties after the island was secured. Joe and the 96th Infantry Division faced intense fighting, especially at Kakazu Ridge, Nishibaru Ridge, and the Yaeju-Dake Escarpment. Under the XXIV Corps, the division was crucial in breaking the Shuri Line, and the island was declared secure on June 22, 1945. Joe did not have enough points to return home yet and was transferred to the Philippines with the 98th Infantry Division, where he served for the remainder of his enlistment. He returned to the United States in December 1946 for demobilization. Joe was one of fourteen children in his family; three of his brothers served in World War II. His brothers Jess and Art served in the U.S. Navy, and his brother John served as an MP in the Army’s Air Corps. Joe was honorably discharged and received the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon, the Good Conduct Medal, the Philippine Independence Ribbon, and the World War II Victory Medal.
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Joe Gonzalez - Feature Veterans Series - Mickey Strand - Veterans Series
United States Army Private First Class World War II Joe Ray Gonzalez, Private First Class, was born on April 22, 1926. He was 96 years old when we first met. He said his lucky number is 96. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II as an infantryman with the well-known 96th Infantry Division, also known as The Deadeyes. Joe enlisted on September 18, 1944, and attended boot camp and initial training at Camp Roberts before joining the 96th. The Deadeyes served in campaigns along the Pacific front, including the Battle of Leyte on an island in the Philippines, the Ryukyu Islands, and later the landings and battles on the Island of Okinawa, where Joe joined the Deadeyes, who earned the Presidential Unit Citation for their efforts during that battle. Joe joined the 96th Infantry on April 12, 1945, the 12th day of the 82-day Battle of Okinawa, as one of more than 12,000 replacement troops supporting the battle. He remembered that his first miserable night on the island was spent in a foxhole. Only the companionship of his fellow Mexican service members helped him get through that tough first night. Joe earned his Combat Infantry Badge (CIB) on May 22, 1945, and was relieved of combat duties after the island was secured. Joe and the 96th Infantry Division faced intense fighting, especially at Kakazu Ridge, Nishibaru Ridge, and the Yaeju-Dake Escarpment. Under the XXIV Corps, the division was crucial in breaking the Shuri Line, and the island was declared secure on June 22, 1945. Joe did not have enough points to return home yet and was transferred to the Philippines with the 98th Infantry Division, where he served for the remainder of his enlistment. He returned to the United States in December 1946 for demobilization. Joe was one of fourteen children in his family; three of his brothers served in World War II. His brothers Jess and Art served in the U.S. Navy, and his brother John served as an MP in the Army’s Air Corps. Joe was honorably discharged and received the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon, the Good Conduct Medal, the Philippine Independence Ribbon, and the World War II Victory Medal.