President Biden awarded the Medal of Honor to retired Col. Paris Davis, one of the first Black Green Berets, for valor in the Vietnam War. An Alaskan who served with him helped in the push for the Pentagon to award Davis the U.S. military’s highest honor.
Davis was then 26 years old, a captain and commander with the 5th Special Forces Group.
“Those are almost like holy papers,” Deis said of the nominating paperwork. “... If I was in the military and something like that came across my desk, it’s like, what’s more important than this?” spent much of his career working at the Alaska Native Medical Center. Most recently, he worked part-time for Southcentral Foundation before retiring in April.
Neil Thorne, one of the volunteers working on advancing Davis’ Medal of Honor, said Deis’ “recollections were absolutely critical.” “Paris, you are everything this medal means. I mean, everything this medal means. And look, you’re everything our generation aspired to be,” Biden said during the ceremony. “You’re everything our nation is at our best, brave and big-hearted, determined and devoted, selfless and steadfast, American.”
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