WASHINGTON — The Army unveiled an engraving that honored the efforts of a Vietnam War veteran who led an inexperienced, outnumbered South Vietnamese company to victory nearly 60 years ago.
The service added Col. Paris Davis to the granite wall bearing the names of fellow Medal of Honor recipients at the National Museum of the U.S Army Wednesday.
“I am overwhelmed by what has happened today,” Davis said after the ceremony.
Davis’ actions in June 1965 not only assured U.S. forces a pivotal victory but prevented three American Soldiers from being captured.
President Joe Biden awarded Davis the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony on March 3 and the Defense Department later inducted Davis into its Hall of Heroes March 6.
“It’s from your life … that this nation remembers you, honors you and owes you,” said Army Director of Staff, Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt, who hosted the ceremony. “By making history, you have given peace to a nation that did not appreciate you nor appreciate the Vietnam War and from an Army that often did not see you as equal. And inside you weren’t equal; you were better.”
June 18, 1965, Davis, three Special Forces troops and a South Vietnamese company faced a large North Vietnamese force near Bong Son, Binh Dinh Province. Despite suffering several injuries, the 5th Special Forces Group armor officer continued to fire upon the enemy and engage in hand-to-hand combat.
Amid enemy rounds, then-Captain Davis rescued three injured U.S. Soldiers from enemy fire. Davis then refused medical evacuation and instead oversaw the transportation of the wounded troops.
“Throughout the day Paris Davis distinguished himself with bravery above and beyond what is humanly possible,” Piatt said. “Paris simply would not allow the enemy to win. He refused to fall and refused to let his team fall.”
Davis, one of the first Black Special Forces officers in the Army, continued to direct air and artillery fire upon the enemy. Davis’ efforts helped stop the South Vietnamese force from being overrun.
Davis thanked his friends, fellow veterans and family who stood by him until he received the nation’s highest military honor. The Army previously awarded him a Silver Star and Purple Heart.
“The power to do what you did is hard for even other Soldiers to understand,” Piatt said. “We admire your actions. The world has benefited from your deeds.”
In his remarks, Davis emphasized the importance of showing kindness and empathy to those who cannot help themselves or may be physically limited such as the disabled.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Davis attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He commissioned into the Army in 1959 and graduated from the service’s ranger and airborne schools in 1960.
Davis deployed first to Korea and then Vietnam in 1962 before being selected for Vietnam again in 1965. Davis went on to serve 26 years before retiring from the Army in 1985.
After the ceremony, Davis, his daughter, Regan Davis-Hopper, and his friends and family walked the garden grounds and looked upon his name and other recipients on the plaque.
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