By Guy Page

Another military hero honored by President Trump at his Tuesday State of the Union speech has a Vermont connection. 

As reported by VDC, President Trump recognized WWII Purple Heart and Bronze Star winner George “Buddy” Taggert, 99, of Castleton during the speech. Today, VDC learned that the U.S. Army helicopter pilot who was gravely wounded during the capture of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro is a Norwich University graduate. 

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover, a U.S. Army helicopter pilot and graduate of Northfield-based Norwich University’s College of Graduate and Continuing Studies, was awarded the Medal of Honor during Tuesday’s State of the Union address by President Donald Trump.

Trump presented the nation’s highest military honor to Slover in the Capitol, where he appeared with his wife and received a standing ovation.

“We are immensely proud of Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover and the extraordinary honor he received in being awarded the Medal of Honor,” LtGen John J. Broadmeadow, USMC (Ret.), President of Norwich University, said in a press statement. “To have this recognition bestowed during the State of the Union underscores not only the magnitude of his courage and service, but the values he represents. As the 10th Norwich alumnus to receive our nation’s highest military decoration, CW5 Slover stands in a long and distinguished line of citizen- soldiers reflecting the enduring Norwich ethos that prepares leaders to serve with honor in the most demanding moments.”

The Medal of Honor itself holds a deep and historic connection to Norwich University, rooted in the institution’s longstanding influence on American military leadership and service. One of the many consequential figures in that legacy is Gideon Welles, Norwich Class of 1826, who served as U.S. Secretary of the Navy under President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. Secretary Welles played a critical role in the creation of the Medal of Honor, helping establish the nation’s highest military decoration at a moment when courage and sacrifice were reshaping the country.