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you're going to find it informative. It is an
honor to welcome to Veterans Radio Medal of Honor
recipient, Colonel Paris Davis. Colonel, welcome
to Veterans Radio. Well, thank you very much
for inviting me. Well, this is an interesting
story. You have a book coming out called Every
Weapon I Had, A Vietnam Vet's Long Road to the
Medal of Honor. And as I mentioned earlier with
you, we had the chance to talk to two guys. We'll
talk about them a little later, Jim Moriarty
and Neil Thorn. We did an interview with them
as they were trying to get your package up and
approved for the medal upgrade to the Medal of
Honor. They were successful, and you are now
carrying that heavy weight of wearing the Medal
of Honor. But let's start back at home. Cleveland,
Ohio, boy. Your dad worked in a foundry. Your
mom and dad had nine kids. That's correct. You
had some uncles who lived with you, and we're
gonna talk about one of the uncles, Uncle P .D.
Tell us a little bit about home life. Well, I
tell you it was really quiet It was very normal
It took on a Tone of this own and when I say
that I'm talking I'm talking about my mama say,
okay I want you to go outside and get all the
Rake the grass and cut the grass and so forth
and so on and if I didn't do it the way she wanted
it after giving me, I'm talking about instructions
that were so small and so in her language that
I always couldn't do what she wanted to say,
then she would give me. a retrieve and if I didn't
get it at that time she said just go get a switch.
Yeah you talk about there was family discipline
both of your mom and your dad and and there was
chores and responsibilities everybody everybody
in the family had jobs to do around the house.
It was pretty structured. Well it really was
and the thing about it it didn't give you a lot
of room to play with. When she says something
and you know she was like Genghis Khan. I mean
you do it or you're dead. And so she had this
thing about her, she would look you right in
the eye and say this needs to be done. Are there
any questions after she explained what she wanted
done? And I would either say yes or no, whatever.
And then she said okay go after it. And the same
thing about your homework that you had to do
when you were in school, all those things had
a place on her table. And if I had homework to
do, she and my dad would go to bed, I don't know,
nine or 10 o 'clock, and I would have that homework
on the table. When I came down for breakfast,
she would either have part of it lined through,
or would say okay or change this or change that
and that's just the way it was and when she told
you to do it you did it and then she did the
result. Well you know learning you know responsibility
your place in the order you know that there are
consequences if you don't do what you're supposed
to do kind of all good valuable life lessons
weren't they? Well they really were and the other
thing is she would say it, the first time she
would ask you to do something, she had already
done it once. So she knew exactly what she wanted,
she would tell me how to do it and then I did
it. Now that just really followed over to the
military. I remember, I hope I told you that
way back when we were first operation, we had
to go across a stream and it was pretty deep
so forth and so on. and we had to tie off. I
showed them the knot we wanted and everything
else. When I got on the other side of the river,
it seemed like they had more time than they needed
to get this thing squared away. And so when I
got on the other side, I said, hey, what the
hell's going on here? And they said, well, we
can't figure out the knot that you wanted. I
said, that's bullshit. I already told you twice.
And then I said, we either going to get this
this thing done or when I come back I have two
grades for both of you. I said there's no reason
that you didn't pay attention. I said it's really
smart on my part to make sure you had all the
information you needed so you couldn't fuck it
up. So mom's lessons are ringing ringing true
right there she uh she her voice was in your
head. Well I tell you the thing about it if you
miss If you didn't understand what she was saying
to you, and you didn't ask the question, like,
what do you really want, Mom? What am I doing
wrong? And she would either tell you or something.
She told you twice, she would just say, go out
and get a switch, and then you know you're gonna
get your butt beat. So I mean, she would just,
and the thing about it, when you have a little
piece of... branch or whatever it, and it was
still sort of orange in color, you know, or dark
orange, you know, it really had some zing to
it when she hit you. And so the thing about it
is you wanted to try to make sure that when you
did things like that, you did them correctly.
To get back to what I was trying to say is Once
you swim across the river, and they're still
fucking around with, excuse me, they're still
messing around with the knife. And you say, what
the hell is going on here? And we can't decide
on that. And then I said, you know what, this
ain't gonna work. Either you're gonna leave here
and talk to both of them, or I'm gonna have to
leave here. But one of us is gonna be dead right
where you are. That's it. I'll be back in about
20 minutes, I have something else to do and you
better have it done. So I should point out to
folks that Colonel Davis Army, Airborne, Rangers,
Special Forces, Green Beret, he doesn't put up
with crap. And some of that sounds like it may
come from mom and dad, but things weren't all
easy in the family growing up either. And really
there was sort of a change of pace when your
older brother Barry got himself in a bad situation.
I think it was a burglary, ended up going to
prison. I mean, that really cast a cloud over
your growing up. and the family's dealings after
that, didn't it? That's a great answer, and let
me tell you why. We had an order in which you
eat, you know, and kids were not first, they
were last. Adults had worked, they had done their
job, they were in a house that we really loved.
and all those other kind of good things. So why
couldn't you just play a little longer and let
her cook a little less and let them eat first
and what was left was for you. And it always
worked out. And no one really pissed and moaned
about it. And the other thing is you need to
have someone with the gavel, they can punch it
on a piece of wood and say, okay, that's all,
next. It was just seeing that you wanna keep
the at a level where everyone could enjoy because
when you're in a house like that, you want to
laugh and you want to do this and you want to
do that. We had a little television that only
it was black and white and you know so and that's
the only colors you could get in and we enjoyed
it. And the other thing is that you said two
things. I love my God and I love my mom and that
just went everywhere and you know my dad was
included and we just had a good time by doing
it that way and the reason why I went to so much
detail when you're in a situation like that I
can remember when we first got to our camp the
first night that we were there I slept in the
doorway I wanted everyone on the team to know
that if somebody was gonna get killed, it was
gonna be me, because they had to come through
me to get to them. And I tried to do that throughout.
You give them an example and you know that you've
already done it, so they shouldn't have a problem
about pissing and moaning and doing it. And you
cut down on the noise and you cut you up. increase
the fact that you could say something, it was
gonna be done correctly, and then you could get
going. I wanna talk about Uncle P .D. for a moment,
because in reading your book, Every Weapon I
Had, I got the sense that Uncle P .D. was kind
of one of those guys who pointed you in a good
direction, he helped you get into Southern University.
But he was kind of a North Star, it sort of seemed
to me. What was the relationship with Uncle P
.D.? Well, I was named after him. I did not know
that for a long while because everybody called
him P .D. and my dad and Brother John and Uncle
Prince all called him P .D. The house was really
big. And I think that was one of the reasons
why everything went as well as it did is because
everyone had to contribute to the payment of
the mortgage and so forth. And so I'm talking
about my other three uncles that lived there.
And so that really worked out very nicely. and
when someone was sick, my mom was there. We called
in the help that needed to be there, the doctor,
whatever it might be. And it just worked out
so that people could have their space in a crowded
room. And it's, one of the things I think it
was PD who kind of, and maybe it was your mom,
really pointed to was the whole idea that reading
I know this sounds trite, right? Reading is fundamental.
Reading and education was something that they
really wanted for you, Paris. Well, you're absolutely
right. And the other thing was every day we would
read a paragraph out of a paper or out of the
book that we were supposed to know so that she
could be in there cooking and whatever and she
could hear the person reading and the others
would be in there listening and sometimes she
would make sure that I was in the middle. and
one brother and her sister could be on each side.
So all three of us were reading the same thing
at the same time. And she would either tell me
I did a good job or whatever. And sometimes she
would have one of the other kids to read what
I just finished just to make sure that they understood
the words that they were speaking and the meaning
that they got from reading what I had just read.
We're spending a little time on this, veteran
radio listeners, as we talk to Medal of Honor
recipient, Colonel Paris Davis, because you can
go read, and we'll talk a little bit about the
battle that earned him this distinction. But
he's giving you now sort of the foundation, the
bedrock of the man he became, the man he displayed
in Vietnam. And along the way, the family kind
of nudged you to college, and you ended up at
Southern University in Baton Rouge, I believe.
And again, that was sort of through some efforts
of your uncle PD, who was kind of maybe guiding
you with a hand. I'm glad you said that, because
I didn't know what I wanted to do. And he had
a friend and I want to say his name was Ernest
or something like that, who was teaching at Southern
University. And he called him and it took him
about three or four phone calls before he got
to him and told him what he wanted to do. The
person Ernest, Mr. Ernest, sent up an application
and all the other kinds of things that he needed
to do because he was an instructor down at Southern
University and he was able to get me into the
university. My grades were pretty good and were
really good and he felt that I could really do
well down there and so he spent a lot of money
at that time you know if you wanted to make a
phone call you had to put the the coins in the
machine before you could get a voice and so after
we went somewhere because our phone wasn't working
and he had all that change in his pocket and
he kept putting in quarters and nickels and dimes
when the operator would say your time's up and
we would discontinue until we got all the things
set up. And sure enough, he sent up the application
and they went down to Southern University and
he told me that I was over the a goal line he
said something like that and he said you've done
well but I tell you when you come here I'm not
going to let up on you I've talked with your
uncle and he and I are friends and been friends
and he told me that he thinks you could do it
down here and I'm going to see if you can do
it down here and if you do he's going to be really
really proud of you but I tell you the other
thing is You know this better than I do. Your
mom is giving him permission. If he sees you
doing something wrong, he tells you a second
time, you're going to get your butt kicked. Mom
knows how to keep you on the straight and narrow.
And it's important to stop on these things and
sort of, you know, today we use words like mentors,
right? Uncle PD, his friend down at Southern
University, they were guiding you. They were
mentors, if you will, outside the family, outside
the mom -dad circle. And as you said, you didn't
know where you wanted to go or go to college
or what you were gonna study, but a lot of life
is sort of like, I don't know where I'm going,
but somebody points me in the right direction,
and you ended up getting involved with ROTC.
down at Southern University for the very practical
reason most people do is that they needed to
pay for college. They needed a little spending
money, but the ROTC be kind of, you know, little
did you know at the time you joined, you were
gonna have this, what it was, 25 year career
in the Army. Talk a little bit about how being
in the ROTC shaped you. This is so important.
to me that you asked that question. Because even
though Southern University was a black college,
we have white instructors, especially in ROTC
because the Army don't care what color you are.
And so when I got there, I was waiting to be
weighted on and this Sergeant came up and I didn't
even know who he was. He said, what are you doing
now? I said, I'm waiting to see whether or not
I'm accepted or not. He said, if you have an
application like that, you're accepted. He said,
let me ask you a question. Do you want a job?
And I said, I don't know. I haven't even signed
in yet. He said, you know what? One of these
days, I hope you're gonna graduate and you're
gonna need a job. And he stayed with me that
whole time that I was at Southern University.
And each time he would see me, he would tell
me something about the Army and the way I needed
to do it, do it for civilians. And so, I mean,
the thing about it, he would just, every once
in a while, he would try to get my grades and
everything else and tell me if I needed to. work
on math or geometry or whatever it was he said
there's no reason why you have to be dumb he
said wow there's there there's a there's a pretty
direct statement right and again you know this
larger issue of mentors somebody helping you
along the way and you don't fight it you you
right you take the advice and internalize it
and that's part of how you keep growing isn't
it Well, it really is. And the thing about it,
you meet a person who sees you in line and comes
up and says, well, Sergeant Cook, so forth and
so on. What are you doing here? Well, I'm trying
to register. He said, that's going to be fine.
But when you're finished, will you need a job?
And every time he would see me at the end of
a semester, he said, you're doing fine. But when
you're finished, you're going to need a job.
And Doug Gunnett, I was in the ROTC program,
he told me first what it was about and then taught
me the things that I needed to know. Uniforms
that you had to wear, so forth and so on. Times
you had to be at class or... this position or
that place and he kept me right on the nose.
I mean, I was doing things, I wanted to be there
four or five minutes or maybe time, sometimes
longer than that so that I didn't disappoint
him. I was more afraid of disappointing him than
I was in passing the class. Well again, those
are valuable lessons and this is the foundation,
veteran radio listeners, of Medal of Honor recipient.
Colonel Paris Davis, this gives you a sense of
his foundation, of the man that he was taking
into the army where he spent his professional
career, if you will, earned your way up to full
Colonel rank. But during that, you spent time
in Vietnam in June of 1965 at Bong Son Dinh Binh
Province. You were in with small units training
locals. This was really what Green Berets did.
Tell us a little bit about what that work was
for you at that time. Well, the way it started
was that I was in college and President Kennedy
had just won the nomination. I wrote a letter
to him. It was a short letter and all I said
is that I saw it in the paper. I heard it on
the radio. I like to do what you're saying. And
I didn't get a letter back. I finished my college
and so forth and so on. I got a letter later
on just before I was ready to try to find a job
and it was from the Army. It said you're going
to be going to IOBC infantry officer basic course
and we'll be sending you two things, a bus ticket
to the station and an airplane ride to where
we are. And I got both of them. And so it was
a matter of him coming to me and said, this is
a job I was talking about. He said, you can really,
really do it well, or you can ham it up. If you
ham it up, I never want to see you again. And
the reason being, you ought to be smart enough
to get this thing done the right way the first
time. And so I got on the bus and went to the
airport. And it was just scared to death because
I'd never been to an airport and had never been
on a bus that size. And so I did both of them.
And luckily, when I got to the airport, I got
some help to go to the different... the place
I need to go to to get on the airplane and they
helped me there and so forth. And I had a note
that my uncle had written and it was enough.
He said, just give this to the attendant and
you'll be okay. And so I finally got to Southern
University and Mr. Ernest was there and he picked
me up, carried me to his house and gave me a
meal or something. He said, we'll get you in
school and we'll see how this works out. So you
start as a guy who's never been on an airplane
and ultimately you qualify for Army Airborne
with all the jumps. Then Ranger School, then
Special Forces, Green Beret. You kind of overcame
all of those little firsts and fears, didn't
you? Right, and when I got to Fort Benning, I'm
running or walking and trying to figure out what
the devil's going on. So I'm in the middle of
nowhere, and this person comes up to me and he
said, What are you doing here? And I said, I'm
trying to find out where I go to make sure that
I'm registered. And he said, you're looking at
a registration at me. Come on in here with me.
And don't say a damn thing unless I talk to you.
And so I went in there with the sergeant and
he sat me down and we talked a little bit about
Cleveland and some other things. And he said,
look, when you go in, you're in the military.
You're gonna be in the military. I hope because
we have to sign you up real quick because you're
about to graduate. you know you're in the 11th
grade and you need to have this on your record
so you can earn a little money and we can learn
you a little bit about the army and if we get
both of those going together you're going to
be okay and that's just what happened and i saw
him a couple three times the first time was he
he told me that i was out there wandering around
not knowing where the devil i was and he pulled
me that's right he pulled me inside he said what
are you doing out here?" I said, I'm trying to
figure out what I'm supposed to do. He said,
come with me, you're going to airborne school.
And you said, okay. I probably choked on it a
couple of three times. But anyhow, he finally
got me in there. And once he asked me for my
telephone number and I had, I said, This is my
mom and he said, that's the person I want to
speak to. And they had a conversation about me
being at Southern University and he was going
to really look out for me. He knew I was there
by myself and he wanted to make sure that I could
do all the things that the Army would help me
with and that my mom would love me all the more
if I did a good job. And that was the initial
conversation I had with him. And then he said,
you know, there's one thing you don't know a
lot about and I'm going to give you a job doing
that. I said, what's that? He said, cleaning
up shit. He said, you're going to go into that
laboratory over there and you're going to clean
up all this shit that's not in the toilet. Well,
hey, there's a job for everybody, right? Yeah,
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to curse on your program.
Before we run out of too much time, I'm going
to skip over the June 1965 battle of Bung Song,
where your actions resulted in you ultimately
earning the Medal of Honor. You also received
the Silver Star, which got upgraded. You received
a number of Purple Hearts, because you got shut
to pieces. You saved a number of your men's lives
in combat. This fight took, on this hill, took
about 24 hours, and it's estimated as many as
1 ,400 Viet Cong were dead at the end of this.
The battlefield was just littered with them as
they kept throwing waves after waves at you.
I'm gonna skip this a little bit because anybody
really interested in that story should read the
book, every weapon I had. But you can also find
all kinds of reports about the battle, about
Colonel Davis. I went back and looked at one
you mentioned in the book. because I could find
it online, and I figured I could. It's a March
1969 show with Phil Donahue with you and fellow
veteran Rondiz talking about Bobby Brown, Robert
Dennis Brown, who was shot in the head during
that battle and ultimately died in 1969. But
that's a really good snippet explaining the battle.
So we're not going to spend a lot of time on
that. What I want to turn to though is your story
is unique in that it took 50 years for you to
get recognized for this. And fortunately you're
still kicking when it happened. Your package
was, and folks who don't know, you have to put
in a very extensive package for a Medal of Honor
to be considered. The individual, Colonel Davis
didn't submit this, people submit this on his
behalf. It started right after the battle with
Major Cole, who submitted the package and it
got lost, and it got lost I think in 65, 69,
20, 2013. A whole bunch of times, You're not
sitting around, you know, wringing your hands
hoping you get the package approved. You're just
going on with life, and this is all this noise
going on in the background. Explain this a little
bit to folks who go, a 50 -year journey, what
the heck? Let me start with, and this won't be
very long, that the team I had was all white.
They're just, because you had to be able to swim
and you had to be able to speak a language and
when I was in charge of the team there I knew
that my time was almost up and I had been wounded
a couple of times and what happened there Hubbard
who was my senior medic and also a cook and he
asked me to come there because some of the team
wanted to speak with me. And what they said was,
if you get wounded again, we're not going to
put it in. If you get wounded after that, we're
not going to put it in because we want you to
stay as our commander. And he said, if it's okay
with you, I've talked with the whole team and
we're not gonna put in all the time that you've
been wounded or anything else because if we get
a third one in there, they're gonna pull you
and put you somewhere else. So if you don't mind,
we're not gonna say anything. So that happened.
And the reason why that is so important is that
when they started trying to figure out about
the medal and all that, all these white soldiers
took the time to write their parents and their
people in the government to see what the devil
happened. And they wouldn't let it go. When they
would go home, they would always go to their
congressmen or whatever and get a reason why
it hasn't moved, so forth and so on. And I think
The reason why it finally will start moving is
the fact that when you're that close with your
team, they don't want you to leave and they want
you to do the best you can to. to get through
this thing. And that's when they called their
parents and other people to call, call your congressman
thus and so, so far, so we can see if we can
get this thing done. And that was the part that
I thought was Paris Davis knew about. And I'll
tell you, when they first told me that I had
a tear or two. You often find that these Medal
of Honor recipients are not only just regular
human beings who did extraordinary things, but
also generally very humble guys. And it's a great
honor to talk to Paris Davis. He has a new book
out, Every Weapon I Had. I would encourage you
to... Track it down, read it, and learn more
about his stories. You can find them all over
the place because it did take about 50 years
to move this along. There's a great interview
with him explaining the battle on a Phil Donahue
show. You can find that on YouTube by a simple
search. So do some more reading, do some more
investigating. You're going to find this interesting
and pass it on. This is history that should not
be forgotten. And I want to thank everybody for
listening to Veterans Radio today. I am Jim Fossone.
It's been a pleasure to be your host. I'm a Veterans
disability lawyer at Legal Help for Veterans
and you can reach us at 800 -693 -4800 or legalhelpforveterans
.com on the web. You can follow Veterans Radio
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