Every weapon I had : a Vietnam vet's long road to the Medal of Honor / Paris Davis, with Theo Emery.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Davis, Paris Darius, 1939- Author.

Emery, Theo, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Davis, Paris Darius, 1939-.

Davis, Paris Darius.

United States. Army. Special Forces--Biography.

United States.

United States. Army--Officers--Biography.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Campaigns--Vietnam--Bình Định (Province).

Vietnam War, 1961-1975.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Veterans--United States--Biography.

African American soldiers--Biography.

African American soldiers.

Medal of Honor--Biography.

Medal of Honor.

Genre:

Autobiographies.

Physical Description:

viii, 256 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 22 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

Vietnam veteran's long road to the Medal of Honor

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : St. Martin's Press, an imprint of St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2025.

Summary:

"The story of a Green Beret commander's heroism during the Vietnam War, and the long fight to recognize his bravery. When Col. Paris Davis was selected to lead one of the Green Beret A-teams organizing resistance to Communist incursions into South Vietnam, his commanding officer warned him that some of his soldiers would resent his authority. This was no surprise; there were only a handful of Black officers in the Special Forces. Davis quickly won the respect of his soldiers, and would soon fight beside him as bullets snapped past and mortars exploded overhead. On June 18th, Davis led a group of inexperienced locals and Special Forces soldiers in an attack on a Viet Cong base in Bong Son. They were met by a superior enemy force, and Davis led the charge in a grueling firefight. He was seriously wounded, but he disobeyed a direct order to retreat until he dragged three injured Green Berets off the battlefield to safety. Every Weapon I Had is an inspiring tale of valor and sacrifice, set against the backdrop of major escalations in both the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement. It is also a story of deferred honor and delayed recognition; Davis earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his actions, but his nomination for the Congressional Medal of Honor was repeatedly "lost." No official reason has ever been given for this oversight, but those who fought to correct it believe that it was motivated by racial prejudice. Davis was finally awarded the Medal in 2023, 58 years after the battle"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

"Some Corner of a Foreign Field"

Bristol Avenue

Into the Army

Special Forces

The Rock

Bong Son

Bugles

The Knoll

"I Refuse to Go"

"Not Before Me"

Ambushed

Recovery

The Pentagon

Command

"This Just Came Up"

The White House.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9781250387653

1250387655

OCLC:

1452439848