"Medal of Honor paperwork for Col. Paris Davis (ret.) mysteriously vanished in 1965, at the height of the civil rights movement."
After a delay of nearly six decades, one of the first Black officers in the Green Berets will receive the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest combat decoration for his heroism in Vietnam.
On Monday, President Joe Biden personally called Col. Paris Davis (ret.) to deliver the news, informing him that he will receive the Medal of Honor "for his remarkable heroism during the Vietnam War," according to a White House statement.
"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 released by him and his family. "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. 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."
Mr. Biden told Davis that "he looks forward to hosting him at the White House soon for a medal presentation," the White House said.
Davis' story, about how his Medal of Honor paperwork mysteriously vanished in 1965, at the height of the civil rights movement, first aired on "CBS Mornings" two years ago.