Arland D. Williams Jr.

The 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River at the crash site was renamed in his honor.

In August 2003, the new Arland D. Williams Jr. Elementary School in his hometown of Mattoon was dedicated.

In 1993, Reagan retold the story of Williams and paid tribute to him during a commencement address at the Citadel on May 15. In 2000, the Citadel — and Williams's alma mater (class of 1957) — created the Arland D. Williams Society to recognize graduates who distinguished themselves through community service. The Citadel also established the Arland D. Williams Endowed Professorship of Heroism in his honor.

The repaired 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River at the crash site, which had been officially named the "Rochambeau Bridge", was renamed the "Arland D. Williams Jr. Memorial Bridge" in his honor by the city government of the District of Columbia in March 1985. Senator Ernest Hollings of South Carolina, a fellow alumnus of the Citadel, initiated the action in late 1983.

The docudrama Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac was aired on NBC television on April 1, 1984. It displayed the heroism of Williams, portrayed by Donnelly Rhodes.

It took over a year to investigate and establish without any doubt Williams's identity and actions. On June 6, 1983, Williams was posthumously awarded the United States Coast Guard's Gold Lifesaving Medal in a White House Oval Office presentation to his family by President Ronald Reagan and Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth H. Dole. Mrs. Virginia Williams accepted the medal on her son's behalf. Other participants in the ceremony included the recipient's father, Arland; his children, Arland III and Leslie Ann; and his sister, Jean Fullmer. Also present were Commander Donald C. Addison; Vice Admiral Benedict L. Stabile, vice commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard; Senator Charles H. Percy and Representative Daniel B. Crane of Illinois.

On January 13, 1982, during an extraordinary period of freezing weather, Air Florida Flight 90 took off from nearby Washington National Airport, failed to gain altitude, and crashed into the 14th Street Bridge, where it hit six cars and a truck on the bridge, killing four motorists.

An essay in Time magazine dated January 25, 1982, was written before the identity of Williams was known. Roger Rosenblatt, the essay's author, wrote:

Williams was the son of A.D. Williams and Virginia Church Williams. He was a divorced father of two - Arland D. Williams III (1966-2003) and Leslie A. Williams, and was engaged to be remarried when he died.

Born and raised in Mattoon, Illinois, Williams graduated from Mattoon High School in 1953, where he acquired the nickname "Chub". He attended The Citadel in South Carolina. According to his high school girlfriend, Williams had been nervous about The Citadel's swimming requirement, as he had always had a fear of water.

Arland Dean Williams Jr. (September 23, 1935 – January 13, 1982) was a passenger aboard Air Florida Flight 90, which crashed on take-off in Washington, D.C., on January 13, 1982, killing 74 people. One of six people to initially survive the crash, he helped the other five escape the sinking plane before he himself drowned.