Eric Slover, Royce Williams Receive Medals of Honor During State of the Union
President Trump presented Medals of Honor during the State of the Union on Tuesday, including one to chief warrant officer 5 eric slover, an Army helicopter pilot wounded in the raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The ceremony also honored 100-year-old retired Navy captain E. Royce Williams for a secret Korean War mission; the account below was updated on February 24, 2026 / 11: 30 PM EST.
Eric Slover and the raid
Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover received the Medal of Honor during the address after being introduced with his wife, who accompanied him into the chamber as the pair earned a standing ovation and chants of “USA, USA, USA. ” President Trump presented the decoration and credited Slover with helping plan Operation Absolute Resolve and serving as the flight lead aboard the first Chinook helicopter to approach Nicolás Maduro’s heavily fortified Caracas compound under cover of night.
Details of the Maduro operation
The president described the mission as “very dangerous” because the enemy “knew we were coming. ” He said the military installation was protected by thousands of soldiers and guarded by Russian and Chinese technology, and he added with a quip: “How did that work out? Not too good. ” Trump said Slover was repeatedly struck in the leg and hip by hostile fire as he prepared to land. "One bullet after another. He absorbed four agonizing shots, shredding his leg into numerous pieces, " the president said, and noted that, despite his wounds, Slover brought the aircraft and his team back to safety. "Maduro was the only thing Eric was thinking about, " Trump declared, "Then, even as he was gushing blood which was flowing back down the aisle, [the] helicopter lands at a steep angle. " The president also noted that Slover continues to recover from his injuries.
Medal presented during address
The ceremony on Tuesday evening marked the first time a Medal of Honor has been presented during the annual State of the Union address. In addition to eric slover, the president honored E. Royce Williams, a retired Navy captain who is 100 years old, with the Medal of Honor for his actions in a secret mission during the Korean War.
Williams’s Korean War service
Williams was part of what has been described as the longest aerial engagement in U. S. Navy history, when in 1952 he fought seven Soviet miG-15 fighter jets and shot down four during a half-hour dogfight. At the height of the Korean War, Williams and another American pilot were flying off the coast of the Korean Peninsula when they encountered the seven Soviet jets. Williams later recalled, "Since they started the fight, " he said, "I shot back. " He struck one MiG while his fellow American pilot pursued it; then, flying alone, he engaged the remaining aircraft and downed three more while maneuvering through what military accounts later described as hundreds of rounds of incoming fire.
Aftermath, secrecy and recognition
After his aircraft was struck, Williams turned back toward an American aircraft carrier and guided the damaged plane in for a high-speed landing. He later said he had considered ejecting but concluded the frigid conditions over the water made such a decision perilous. Williams has said he was instructed to keep the airborne clash a secret—an episode that amounted to a rare and politically fraught confrontation between American and Soviet forces at a moment when the two Cold War adversaries were intent on avoiding open war. For decades he spoke of it to no one, not even his wife. Details of the operations surfaced only years after the collapse of the Soviet Union as archival records and military histories were made public.
Lawmakers and recent honors
Three years ago Williams was awarded the Navy Cross, the highest combat award that can be given to a service member of either the Navy or Marine Corps for valor in combat. Republican Rep. Darell Issa of California, whose San Diego-area district includes Williams’s home, pressed for the retired Navy pilot to receive the Medal of Honor. Last year, lawmakers authorized the president to bestow the decoration, waiving the longstanding requirement that it be awarded within five years of the act of valor. "The heroism and valor he demonstrated for more than 35 harrowing minutes almost 70 years ago in the skies over the North Pacific and the coast of North Korea unquestionably saved the lives of his fellow pilots, shipmates, and crew, " Issa wrote earlier this month. Mr. Trump also called Williams earlier this month. Williams stood as first lady Melania Trump placed the medal around his neck, and the president said: "Tonight, at 100 years old, this brave Navy captain is finally getting the recognition he deserves. He was a legend long before this evening. "
Tanya Noury is a reporter whose coverage focuses on the White House and the Pentagon.
Closing: The White House presentation during the State of the Union honored two service members—Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover, still recovering from wounds sustained in the Maduro raid, and 100-year-old E. Royce Williams, recognized for a classified Korean War aerial engagement.
