In the early 2000s, US records from the Korean War were finally declassified and Williams' story became well-known in military circles.
So he's been free to tell his story for years. The records were probably declassified about 50 years after the Korean War ended.
The friend was working on his behalf to get his award upgraded to the Navy Cross for some time.
I meant my friend, who started working on this in 2014, trying to get him the MOH.
That is why I agree that the line in the article was odd about when the American war hero could start talking about it.