Eric Slover and Royce Williams honored with Medals of Honor during State of the Union
eric slover was one of two service members who received the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Trump during the State of the Union on Feb. 24, 2026, a night that also saw 100-year-old retired Navy captain E. Royce Williams stand to be decorated. The presentations marked a rare pairing of modern and Cold War-era recognition on the House chamber floor.
Eric Slover recognized for role in Maduro raid
President Trump presented a helicopter pilot who was wounded in the raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro with the Congressional Medal of Honor on Feb. 24, 2026. Trump said the pilot was Army Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover and that he was the pilot of the lead CH-47 Chinook helicopter during the raid. Photographs from the House chamber the same day show U. S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover receiving the Medal of Honor during the State of the Union in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026.
100-year-old E. Royce Williams gets recognition decades later
During his remarks on Feb. 24, 2026, Mr. Trump honored E. Royce Williams, who at 100 years old stood as first lady Melania Trump placed the Medal of Honor around his neck. 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. " The event was noted as the first time a president has awarded the Medal of Honor during a State of the Union.
Williams' classified 1952 dogfight and later acknowledgments
Williams was part of what is described in the historical record as the longest aerial engagement in U. S. Navy history: a half-hour dogfight in 1952 during the Korean War in which he and another American pilot encountered seven Soviet MiG-15 fighter jets off the coast of the Korean Peninsula. The Soviet aircraft opened fire, and Williams later said, "Since they started the fight, I shot back. " Williams struck one MiG while his fellow American 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. He guided his damaged plane in for a landing aboard an American aircraft carrier at high speed after his aircraft was struck, and he said he had considered ejecting but concluded the frigid conditions over the water made that perilous. Soviet involvement in the clash was top secret at the time and the records were classified for decades; details surfaced only years after the collapse of the Soviet Union as archival records and military histories were made public.
Congressional waiver, prior honors and local backing
Last year, lawmakers authorized the president to bestow the Medal of Honor on Williams, waiving the longstanding requirement that it be awarded within five years of the act of valor. Three years ago Williams had been awarded the Navy Cross. Republican Rep. Darell Issa of California, whose district includes Williams' home, pressed for the retired Navy pilot to receive the Medal; 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. " Williams told Task & Purpose in a 2022 interview, "In the moment I was a fighter pilot doing my job. I was only shooting what I had. " Mr. Trump called Williams earlier this month.
House disruption after the speech
On Feb. 25, 2026, Rep. Al Green was ejected from the House chamber after holding a sign that said "Black people aren't apes. " He was still holding the sign when he spoke to reporters in the Capitol, telling them President Trump "got the message. "
Updated on Feb. 24, 2026, 11: 30 p. m. EST. It is unclear in the provided context what the next scheduled public event or milestone related to these Medal of Honor presentations will be.
