Trump spotlights battlefield heroism with dual Medal of Honor awards

President Donald Trump used part of his State of the Union address on Tuesday to highlight American military heroism, awarding U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover and U.S. Navy Capt. E. Royce Williams with the nation’s highest military honor.

Describing what he described as a high-risk raid targeting Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January, Trump detailed Slover’s role in leading the mission. He said Slover was piloting a Chinook helicopter that carried U.S. forces into heavily fortified enemy territory under cover of darkness. As the aircraft approached the target it came under intense machine gun fire from many directions.

Explaining the dangerous mission, Trump said, “There were a lot of heroes in the raid to capture Maduro in January. Really great heroes. It was very dangerous.”

“He fired four agonizing shots and shattered his leg into countless pieces,” the president continued, telling lawmakers that “the success of the entire mission and the lives of his fellow warriors depended on Eric’s ability to continue flying as blood was shed.”[ed] Down the hall.”

Slover, who is still recovering from his wounds, attended the address where he was presented with the country’s highest military award with his wife, Amy.

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First Lady Melania Trump presents the Medal of Honor to U.S. veteran Captain E. Royce Williams. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)

Trump also presented Williams, a 100-year-old Korean War veteran and retired Navy captain, with the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary combat bravery during a long-secret aerial dogfight over the Sea of ​​Japan in 1952.

Flying a single F9F Panther jet from USS Oriskany, Williams shot down four Soviet MiG-15 fighters during a 35-minute battle despite being vastly outnumbered and flying an aircraft considered inferior in speed and rate of climb.

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At the time, the U.S. government was keeping the encounter secret to avoid escalating tensions with the Soviet Union, which was not officially considered a combatant in the war. Decades later, after the details were declassified, Williams’ actions were officially recognized as the nation’s highest military honor.

The Medal of Honor ceremonies held back to back underlined the importance the administration attaches to military service and received long applause from lawmakers and guests in the hall.

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