Congressional Medal of Honor: Eric Slover and Royce Williams Honored at State of the Union in Historic First
Two American warriors — one wounded just weeks ago in the Maduro raid, one who waited 74 years — received the Congressional Medal of Honor during last night's State of the Union address in the most emotionally charged moment of President Trump's record-breaking speech to Congress.
Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover: The Chinook Pilot Who Wouldn't Stop Flying
Trump called out Slover and his wife Amy during the address before stunning them with the announcement. "So we have a surprise, Eric and Amy," Trump said before asking General Jonathan Braga, commander of Joint Special Operations Command, to present Chief Warrant Officer Slover with the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga presented Slover with the Medal of Honor in the gallery overlooking the House chamber. Slover was in his dress uniform and used a walker to steady himself, still recovering from his wounds. The room erupted in a standing ovation as he accepted the nation's highest military decoration.
What Eric Slover Did: The Maduro Raid
Trump credited Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover for helping plan Operation Absolute Resolve and for serving as the flight lead aboard the first CH-47 Chinook helicopter to approach Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's heavily fortified Caracas compound under the cover of night. The mission, carried out in January 2026, successfully captured Maduro in what Trump described as a military installation protected by thousands of soldiers and guarded by Russian and Chinese technology.
Trump told the chamber: "He absorbed four agonizing shots, shredding his leg into numerous pieces — and yet, despite the fact that the use of his legs was vital to successful helicopter flight, to deliver the many commandos who would capture and detain Maduro was the only thing Eric was thinking about. Even as he was gushing blood, which was flowing back down the aisle, the helicopter lands at a steep angle."
Trump noted that 10 other service members who took part in Operation Absolute Resolve will receive medals at a private White House ceremony. Seven U.S. service members in total were wounded in the raid by gunshot and shrapnel.
Captain Royce Williams: 100 Years Old, 74 Years Waiting
The second Medal of Honor awarded at the State of the Union belongs to a man who had to wait longer than most Americans have been alive to receive it.
Navy Capt. Royce Williams of Escondido, California, received the medal draped around his neck by First Lady Melania Trump, who had sat with him throughout the president's address. Williams was honored for courageously taking on seven Soviet MiG aircraft over Korea in 1952 and knocking four of them out of the sky in what is widely regarded as one of the longest and toughest aerial dogfights in the history of the U.S. Navy.
Trump described the engagement with admiration: "Royce led the takedown of four enemy jets and almost destroyed the others, vanquishing his adversaries while taking 263 bullets to his own plane and being seriously hurt. His story was secret for over 50 years. He didn't even want to tell his wife — but the legend grew and grew. Tonight, at 100 years old, this brave Navy captain is finally getting the recognition he deserves."
Why Royce Williams Had to Wait 74 Years
The aerial combat engagement over North Korea in 1952 was classified for decades to avoid escalating tensions with the Soviet Union, whose secret involvement in the Korean War was kept hidden at the time.
Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican and former Army captain who lobbied extensively for Williams to receive the medal, called it "the most unique U.S.-Soviet aerial combat dogfight in the history of the Cold War." Issa introduced and helped secure passage of the "Valor Has No Expiration Act," which eliminated the five-year statute of limitations for Medal of Honor consideration — creating a pathway for extraordinary feats from earlier or previously classified conflicts to receive formal recognition.
A Historic First at the State of the Union
Tuesday evening marked the first time in American history that a Medal of Honor was presented during the annual State of the Union address — and it happened twice in the same night.
In a lighter moment after both presentations, Trump joked: "I've always wanted the Congressional Medal of Honor, but I was informed I'm not allowed to give it to myself. And I wouldn't know why I would be taking it. If they ever open up that law, I will be with you someday." The two presentations produced the only sustained bipartisan applause of the evening in an otherwise deeply divided chamber.
