00:00There were many heroes on that January raid to capture Maduro. Really great heroes.
00:06It was very dangerous. They knew we were coming. They were all set.
00:09But the deeds of one warrior that night will live forever in the eternal chronicles of military valor.
00:18Chief Warrant Officer 5, Eric Slover, planned the mission and was the flight lead in the cockpit of the first
00:28helicopter.
00:30A big, beautiful, powerful helicopter. It was a massive Chinook carrying, as you can imagine, many, many American warfighters.
00:43Wearing the dog tags his wife Amy had blessed with holy water before he left. She knew it was going
00:49to be a rough one.
00:51Eric steered the Chinook under the cover of night and descended swiftly upon Maduro's heavily protected military fortress.
00:58This was a major military installation, protected by thousands of soldiers and guarded by Russian and Chinese military technology.
01:09How did that work out? Not too good?
01:14While preparing to land, enemy machine guns fired from every angle.
01:18And Eric was hit very badly in the leg and hip, one bullet after another.
01:24He absorbed four agonizing shots, shredding his leg into numerous pieces.
01:30And yet, despite the fact that the use of his legs was vital to successful helicopter flight â legs are
01:39the most important part of flying a helicopter â to deliver the many commandos who would capture and detain Maduro
01:47was the only thing Eric was thinking about.
01:51Then, even as he was gushing blood, which was flowing back down the aisle â helicopter lands at a steep
01:57angle â the machine guns stood right in front of him.
02:01They were right in front of him, two machine gunners who escaped the wrath of the previous planes.
02:07Eric maneuvered his helicopter with all of those lives and souls to face the enemy and let his gunners eliminate
02:15the threat.
02:15He turned the helicopter around so that the gunners could take care of business, saving the lives of his fellow
02:22warriors from what could have been a catastrophic crash deep in enemy territory.
02:28Only after safely landing the helicopter with all the warriors aboard in the exact right spot, which was vital to
02:36the mission â we probably would have had to maybe cancel the mission if that didn't happen â
02:43Eric told his co-pilot, also wounded, but not as gravely, to take over â I'm about ready to pass
02:52out â the success of the entire mission and the lives of his fellow warriors, Hinge, and Eric's ability to
02:59take searing pain.
03:02It was unbelievable what's happened to his legs of the bullets, and keep on flying and landing, and people knew
03:12what was happening.
03:13Everybody in the back of the helicopter knew because they saw the blood pouring down the aisle.
03:19Chief Warrant Officer Slover is still recovering from his serious wounds, but I'm thrilled to say that he is here
03:27tonight with his wife Amy, Eric, and Amy.
03:31Come on in.
04:01Go, go, go, go, go, go.
04:09Go, go, go, go, go, go!
04:15Go, go, go!
04:17Go, go, go, go, go, go!
04:20Go, go, go, go!
04:21Go, go, go, go, go!
04:22Go, go, go, go, go, go, go!
04:22Go, go, go, go, go!
04:23Go, go!
04:23So, we have a surprise Eric and Amy.
04:27In recognition of Eric's actions above and beyond the
04:30call of duty.
04:32I would now like to ask General Jonathan Braga
04:38to present Chief Warrant Officer Slover with our
04:42nation's highest military award, the
04:45Congressional Medal of Honor.
05:07Thank you very much.
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