100-Year-Old Korean War Veteran Receives Medal of Honor During State of the Union 2026 Address
President Trump awarded a Medal of Honor during Tuesday night’s State of the Union address to a 100-year-old Korean War veteran — who received a standing ovation that lasted for several minutes.
Trump bestowed veteran fighter pilot E. Royce Williams, a retired Navy captain who shot down four Soviet MiG-15 jets in a classified 1952 operation that remained hidden from the American public for decades, with the nation’s highest military decoration near the end of his speech to Congress.
“Royce was in the dogfight of a lifetime,” the president said of Williams’ heroics.
“His squadron was ambushed by seven Soviet fighter planes,” Trump continued. “It was his first aerial combat of the war, and despite being massively outnumbered and outgunned, Royce led the take down of four enemy jets and almost destroyed the others – vanquishing his adversaries while taking 263 bullets to his own plane and being seriously hurt.”
“His story was secret for over 50 years … but the legend grew and grew.” (Read more from “100-Year-Old Korean War Veteran Receives Medal of Honor During State of the Union 2026 Address” HERE)
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr











