Paris Davis
Colonel Paris D. Davis (born 13 May 1939) is a retired United States Army officer who received the Medal of Honor on 3 March 2023 for his actions on 18 June 1965 during the Vietnam War, while he was a captain with the 5th Special Forces Group. Originally awarded the Silver Star, Davis was twice previously nominated for the Medal of Honor, but both times the paperwork relating to his nomination disappeared; the time from the first nomination to the completion of a successful third nomination spanned 58 years.
Following his Medal of Honor action, Davis subsequently commanded the 10th Special Forces Group. He retired in 1985 as a full colonel after 26 years on active duty, and published the Metro Herald for another 30 years before fully retiring. He lives in Arlington County, Virginia.
Quotes
[edit]American Heroes (2024) interview
[edit]- New York: Little, Brown & Company. Written by James Patterson & Matt Eversmann, with Tim Malloy & Chris Mooney. The interview with Davis is transcribed on pages 28-41.
- Not long after I entered the Army, I had just completed IOBLC, the Infantry Officers Basic Leadership Course, when a sergeant major who is white comes up to me. "What are you doing here?" he asks.
It's been fourteen years since President Truman desegregated our military, but Black people are still looked upon as less than people- less than Americans. Sitting at a lunch counter, getting a book from the library, walking a picket line to support the right to vote and integrate schools and public transportation- these actions can get Black people arrested, beaten, or killed.
I straighten a bit. "I'm waiting to be assigned, sir." He looks at me, thinking. "I have an Airborne slot," he says. "You want it?" "Yes, sir." "Do you know what 'Airborne' means?" "No, sir." "Good. You'll find out once you get there."- p. 28-29
- Back home, the United States is engaged in another kind of war. It's a battle over segregation. In 1964, President Kennedy's successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, signed into law the Civil Rights Act, which ended segregation in public places and prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Not everyone is happy about it. Some white people cross to the other side of the street when they see me. Some white soldiers I know, too.
- p. 30
- I address my men. "If you call me anything besides 'sir,' I'm not going to waste time reporting you. I'll just knock you to the ground."
We get along splendidly. I think one of the good things about a war or any other type of crisis like Vietnam is the fact that people are committed to it like gel. There's no race here. In the dark, brown is just as black or white as anybody else.- p. 31
- The Vietcong tries to overrun us. I see five coming over the trench line. I kill all five when I hear firing from the left flank. I run down there and see about six Vietcong moving toward our position. I throw a grenade and kill all four of them. My M16 jams, so I shoot one with my pistol and hit the other with the butt of my M16 again and again until he's dead. That's when it hits me. I'm the last American standing.
- p. 35
- A Medal of Honor packet requires substantial paperwork- eyewitness statements, map, a unit report of the action, and other documentation. It's not something that gets lost. The chances of it being lost not once but twice are nearly impossible. Race, I believe, is a factor.
- p. 39
- When you're out there fightig, everybody's your friend, and you're everybody's friend. The bullets have no color, no names.
- p. 39
- I retire from the Army in 1985. I start a small newspaper in Virginia called The Metro Herald and, for the next thirty years, publish stories about the accomplishments of Black people. I'm often asked about my thoughts on why my medal nomination kept getting lost or why I kept running into enemy fire to save my men. I always answer the same way.
Life suddens upon you, it just suddens upon you. Every day, something comes up that you don't expect.- p. 40
- For the next two years, CBS's ongoing reporting and our team help keep the story in front of high-level decision-makers. As their efforts go on, they begin to get quiet, encouraging signs from the Pentagon. Then, in early 2023, more than fifty-seven years after that battle in Vietnam, I get a call at home from President Biden. He tells me I will be awarded the Medal of Honor and to prepare for a White House ceremony.
Speaking with the President prompts a wave of memories of the men and women I served with in Vietnam- from the members of the 5th Special Forces Group and other US military units to the doctors and nurses who cared for our wounded. I remain so very grateful to the support of my family and friends within the military and outside it. Their work, the White House ceremony, and many events at the Pentagon and elsewhere in America keep alive the story of A-team, A-321 at Camp Bong Son.
Most of all, I want to share the medal with my Special Forces troops- the other soldiers I worked with and fought with that day. Somehow, they need to touch that medal. It ain't all mine. It's for America, too.- p. 40-41
Quotes about Davis
[edit]- Captain Paris D. Davis, Commander, Detachment A-321, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an advisor to the 883d Regional Force Company, Army of the Republic of Vietnam, during combat operations against an armed enemy in the vicinity of Bong Son, Republic of Vietnam, on June 17-18, 1965. Captain Davis and three other U.S. Special Forces advisors accompanied the Vietnamese 883d Regional Force Company on its first combat mission, a daring nighttime raid against a Viet Cong Regional Headquarters housing a superior enemy force. Captain Davis’ advice and leadership allowed the company to gain the tactical advantage, allowing it to surprise the unsuspecting enemy force and kill approximately 100 enemy soldiers. While returning from the successful raid, the Regional Force Company was ambushed and sustained several casualties. Captain Davis constantly exposed himself to hostile small arms fire to rally the inexperienced and disorganized company. He expertly directed both artillery and small arms fire, enabling other elements of the company to reach his position. Although wounded in the leg, he aided in the evacuation of other wounded men of his unit, but refused medical evacuation himself. Following the arrival of air support, Captain Davis directed artillery fire within 30 meters of his own position in an attempt to halt the enemy’s advance. Then, with complete disregard for his own life, he braved intense enemy fire to cross an open field to rescue his seriously wounded and immobilized team sergeant. While carrying the sergeant up a hill to a position of relative safety, Captain Davis was again wounded by enemy fire. Despite two painful wounds, Captain Davis again refused medical evacuation, remained with the troops, fought bravely, and provided pivotal leadership and inspiration to the Regional Force Company as they repelled several Viet Cong assaults on their position over a period of several hours. When friendly reinforcements finally arrived, Captain Davis again refused medical evacuation until he had recovered a U.S. advisor under his command who had been wounded during the initial ambush and presumed dead. While personally recovering the wounded soldier he found him severely wounded but still clinging to life. Captain Davis directed the helicopter extraction of his wounded colleague, not leaving the battlefield himself until after all friendly forces were recovered or medically evacuated. Captain Davis’ heroism and selflessness, above and beyond the call of duty at the risk of his own life, are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
