Col. Paris Davis, one of the first Black officers in the Green Berets, is set to receive the coveted Medal of Honor for his service in Vietnam nearly 60 years after he was first nominated for the award.
On Monday (February 12), President Joe Biden said Davis would be honored "for his remarkable heroism during the Vietnam War," per CBS News.
"The call today from President Biden prompted a wave of memories of the men and women I served with in Vietnam – from the members of 5th Special Forces Group and other U.S. military units to the doctors and nurses who cared for our wounded," Davis said in a statement.
“I am so very grateful for my family and friends within the military and elsewhere who kept alive the story of A-team, A-321 at Camp Bong Son," he continued. "I think often of those fateful 19 hours on June 18, 1965, and what our team did to make sure we left no man behind on that battlefield."
In 1965, Davis, then 26, rescued every member of his team from a burst of enemy fire at a North Vietnamese Army Camp in Bong Son despite orders to withdraw.
The Vietnam War veteran was slated to receive a Medal of Honor but his paperwork disappeared twice. Davis, now 85, told CBS News, "I know race was a factor."
But his nearly 60-year wait to become a Medal of Honor recipient is almost over as Biden is expected to give final approval this week.
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