An 83-year-old Vietnam veteran is at long last getting his due
Retired Army Col. Paris Davis, an Ohio native, who is set to receive the Medal of Honor for his service in the Vietnam War speaks during an interview with the Associated Press at a hotel in Arlington, Va., Thursday, March 2, 2023. WASHINGTON — — Nearly 60 years after he was first recommended for the nation’s highest award for bravery during the Vietnam War, retired Col.
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.
Davis' commanding officer recommended him for the military's top honor, but the paperwork disappeared. He eventually was awarded a Silver Star Medal, the military's third-highest combat medal, as an interim honor, but members of Davis’ team have argued that his skin color was a factor in the disappearance of his Medal of Honor recommendation.
“But I don't believe they were lost,” Deis said. “I believe they were intentionally discarded. They were discarded because he was Black, and that's the only conclusion that I can come to.”“We're here to celebrate the fact that he got the award, long time coming,” Maj. Gen. Patrick Roberson, deputy commanding general, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, told the AP. “We, the Army, you know, we haven't been able to see anything that would say, ‘Hey, this is racism.
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