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During the State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Donald Trump presented the Medal of Honor to retired Capt. E. Royce Williams, a Navy pilot who shot down multiple Soviet jets during the Korean War, upgrading his existing award of a Navy Cross.Trump called the 100-year-old former fighter pilot “one of the last living legends.” During the speech, the president asked First Lady Melania Trump to present Royce Williams a Medal of Honor for his actions in a secret mission during the Korean War.A military aide was seen bringing the esteemed award down the stairs of the House gallery, where Melania Trump and Williams were sitting before she put it around his neck while a standing ovation took over the chamber.“He didn’t even want to tell his wife. But the legend grew and grew,” Trump said about the clandestine mission. “But tonight, at 100 years old, this brave Navy captain is finally getting the recognition he deserves.”President Trump also presented a Congressional Medal of Honor to a helicopter pilot wounded in the raid that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.Trump said Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover, who appeared using a walker, was the pilot of the lead CH-47 Chinook helicopter that descended on the “heavily protected military fortress” that held Maduro during a raid that, while successful, left seven U.S. service members with gunshot wounds and shrapnel-related injuries.Trump also said 10 other service members who took part in the operation will be receiving medals at a private ceremony soon to be held at the White House.
During the State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Donald Trump presented the Medal of Honor to retired Capt. E. Royce Williams, a Navy pilot who shot down multiple Soviet jets during the Korean War, upgrading his existing award of a Navy Cross.
Trump called the 100-year-old former fighter pilot “one of the last living legends.”
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During the speech, the president asked First Lady Melania Trump to present Royce Williams a Medal of Honor for his actions in a secret mission during the Korean War.
A military aide was seen bringing the esteemed award down the stairs of the House gallery, where Melania Trump and Williams were sitting before she put it around his neck while a standing ovation took over the chamber.
“He didn’t even want to tell his wife. But the legend grew and grew,” Trump said about the clandestine mission. “But tonight, at 100 years old, this brave Navy captain is finally getting the recognition he deserves.”
President Trump also presented a Congressional Medal of Honor to a helicopter pilot wounded in the raid that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Trump said Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover, who appeared using a walker, was the pilot of the lead CH-47 Chinook helicopter that descended on the “heavily protected military fortress” that held Maduro during a raid that, while successful, left seven U.S. service members with gunshot wounds and shrapnel-related injuries.
Trump also said 10 other service members who took part in the operation will be receiving medals at a private ceremony soon to be held at the White House.
