A black Vietnam veteran was awarded the highest military honor on Friday, nearly 60 years after he was recommended for the prestigious medal.
President Joe Biden presented the Medal of Honor to retired Army Col. Paris Davis, one of the first black officers to lead a Special Forces team in combat, during a ceremony at the White House.
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“You are everything this medal means,” Biden told Davis. “You’re everything our nation is at our best. Brave and big-hearted, determined and devoted, selfless and steadfast.”
Davis was awarded the medal for his actions on June 18, 1965, when he fought off Northern Vietnamese forces and risked his life to save his team. Davis engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy and had to fire a rifle with his pinkie finger after his hand was shattered by a grenade, according to the Army Times. He was a captain at the time, and no one on his team died in the attack.
“That word ‘gallantry’ is not much used these days,” Biden said. “But I can think of no better word to describe Paris.”
Davis said he was "overwhelmed" at receiving the honor. Davis had been recommended for the honor shortly after the mission, but the paperwork was misplaced twice, resulting in a decadeslong delay. Some members of his team have claimed racism was at least partially to blame for the delay, but Davis refused to worry about how long it took to receive the award.
“When you’re fighting, you’re not thinking about this moment,” Davis told the Associated Press. “You’re just trying to get through that moment.”
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 was previously awarded the Silver Star for his heroics in 1965. The Silver Star is the third highest honor for combat, whereas the Medal of Honor is the first.
Davis retired from the Army in 1985 at the rank of lieutenant colonel and now resides in Alexandria, Virginia.