Biden to award Medal of Honor to Vietnam War veteran
Misty Severi
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One of the first black officers to lead a Special Forces team in combat will receive the Medal of Honor nearly 60 years after his heroics in the Vietnam War.
President Joe Biden will award the medal to retired U.S. Army Col. Paris Davis, who repeatedly ran into an open rice paddy during combat to save his men on June 18, 1965. Every member of his team was injured in the fight, but each survived because of Davis.
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“I think often of those fateful 19 hours on June 18, and what our team did to make sure we left no man behind on that battlefield,” Davis said in a statement.
Davis, who was a captain at the time of the major counterattack by North Vietnam, was recommended for the Medal of Honor by his commanding officer for his bravery. Davis repeatedly risked his life to save his team, despite having to fire a rifle with his pinkie finger after his hand was shattered by a grenade, according to the outlet. He retired 20 years later in 1985. He made it to the rank of colonel.
Davis was eventually awarded a Silver Star for his heroics. The paperwork referring him for the Medal of Honor was lost twice. The Silver Star is the third-highest award for combat, but the Medal of Honor is the highest. Members of Davis’s team have argued that racism was a factor in the award at the time.
Former acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller ordered an expedited review of the case in 2021. Miller argued that giving Davis the award now would be “fixing an injustice,” according to an opinion piece written by Miller later that year.
“Some issues in our nation rise above partisanship,” Miller said in the piece. “The Davis case meets that standard.”
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Davis said the call from Biden informing him of the award made him think of his team, and he thanked everyone for keeping the story alive.
“The President told Colonel Davis that he looks forward to hosting him at the White House soon for a medal presentation,” the White House said in a statement. No date for the ceremony has been announced.