Eric Slover honored; eric slover receives Medal of Honor at State of the Union

Updated on: February 24, 2026 / 11: 30 PM ET. Chief Warrant Officer Five eric slover, 45, was presented the Medal of Honor on Tuesday during the State of the Union after suffering serious wounds while piloting in an operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Medal presented in chamber

President Trump presented Chief Warrant Officer Five Eric Slover with the Medal of Honor during the State of the Union address. As Slover and his wife entered the chamber they received a standing ovation while chants of “USA, USA, USA” rang out. Slover appeared in full dress uniform and relied on a walker to steady himself. He is still recovering from his injuries.

Details of Operation Absolute Resolve

The president described a covert Jan. 3 mission called Operation Absolute Resolve that captured Nicolás Maduro. Trump cast Slover as the flight lead in the cockpit and said Slover was the first Chinook helicopter to approach Maduro’s heavily fortified Caracas compound under the cover of darkness. The president described the operation 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 military technology, then added, “How did that work out? Not too good. ”

Attack on the Chinook and wounds

As the Chinook approached the target it came under intense machine-gun fire from multiple directions. Slover was hit repeatedly, sustaining serious wounds to his leg and hip. The president said Slover “absorbed four agonizing shots, shredding his leg into numerous pieces. ” Despite those wounds, Slover maintained control of the aircraft, enabling Delta Force operators to carry out their mission. The president said, “Eric maneuvered his helicopter with all of those lives and souls to face the enemy and let his gunners eliminate the threat, ” and added that the success of the mission and the lives of his fellow warriors hinged on Slover’s ability to endure searing pain. The president declared, “Maduro was the only thing Eric was thinking about. ” He also described Slover as “gushing blood which was flowing back down the aisle” as the helicopter landed at a steep angle.

Capture outcome and detentions

The operation resulted in the successful capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, without any American lives lost. The deposed Venezuelan president and Flores are now being held in a Brooklyn jail on drugs and weapons charges.

Presentation and firsts

Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga placed the Medal of Honor around Slover’s neck in the Capitol gallery, marking the first time a Medal of Honor had been presented during the annual address. The president also presented a Medal of Honor on the same evening to a 100-year-old veteran, E. Royce Williams.

E. Royce Williams’ recognition

President Trump honored 100-year-old E. Royce Williams by awarding him the Medal of Honor for actions in a secret mission during the Korean War. Williams stood as first lady Melania Trump placed the medal around his neck. Williams, a retired Navy captain, was part of what was described as the longest aerial engagement in U. S. Navy history when he fought seven Soviet MiG fighter jets, shooting down four, during a half-hour dogfight in 1952.

Soviet involvement in that 1952 engagement was top secret at the time, and records of the event were classified for decades. At the height of the Korean War, Williams and another American pilot were flying off the coast of the Korean Peninsula when they encountered seven Soviet MiG-15 fighter jets. Williams recalled that the Soviet aircraft opened fire and said, “Since they started the fight, I shot back. ” Williams struck one MiG while his fellow American pilot pursued it; then, flying alone, he downed three more Soviet planes while maneuvering through what military accounts later described as hundreds of rounds of incoming fire.

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 that perilous. Williams has said he was instructed to keep the airborne clash a secret; for decades he spoke of it to no one, not even his wife. Details surfaced years after the collapse of the Soviet Union as archival records and military histories were made public.

Three years ago Williams was awarded the Navy Cross, the highest combat award that can be given to a service member of the Navy or Marine Corps for valor in combat. Republican Rep. Darell Issa of California 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. Issa wrote earlier this month: “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. ” Mr. Trump called Williams earlier this month.

The timing of the medal presentation is notable as Mr. Trump is set to award the Medal of Honor to a unclear in the provided context

Lt. Col. Allie Scott, a United States Army Special Operations Command spokesperson, said Slover enlisted in the Army in 2005. Slover’s decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross with V Device, the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star with one oak leaf cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Medal with C Device, the Air Medal with numeral 3, the Army Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Army Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Combat Action Badge, the Senior Army Aviator Badge, the Master Aviator Badge, the Parachutist Badge, the Air Assault Badge and the Army Service Ribbon.

Closing: Chief Warrant Officer Five Eric Slover, 45, received the Medal of Honor in the Capitol gallery during the State of the Union after being wounded while piloting a Chinook in Operation Absolute Resolve, the Jan. 3 mission that captured Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores and resulted in their detention in a Brooklyn jail on drugs and weapons charges.