Nearly 60 years after he was first recommended, he is finally receiving the presitigous Medal of Honor.
WASHINGTON — Nearly 60 years after he was first recommended for the nation’s highest award for bravery during the Vietnam War, retired Col. Paris Davis, one of the first Black officers to lead a Special Forces team in combat, will receive the prestigious Medal of Honor on Friday.
Some of Davis' supporters believe racism was to blame, but Davis doesn't dwell on it. He said he doesn't know why it has taken decades for his heroism to be recognized. He led the charge against the enemy, called for precision artillery fire, engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the North Vietnamese and thwarted the capture of three American soldiers — all while suffering multiple wounds from gunshots and grenade fragments. Davis used his pinkie finger to fire his rifle after his hand was shattered by an enemy grenade, according to reports.
He compares receiving the medal to getting a long-anticipated ice cream cone and says the wait in no way lessens the honor. “I believe that someone purposely lost the paperwork,” Ron Deis, a junior member of Davis' team in Bong Son, told the AP in a separate interview.
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