Sammy Lee Davis

He fired a burning howitzer and crossed a river to save men.

Sammy Lee Davis earned the Medal of Honor after fighting through severe wounds to defend an American fire-support base and rescue three wounded soldiers during the Vietnam War.

Born on 1 November 1946 in Dayton, Ohio, Davis grew up in a military family and enlisted in the U.S. Army in September 1966. Following basic training at Fort Jackson and artillery instruction at Fort Sill, he deployed to South Vietnam in March 1967 with Battery C, 2nd Battalion, 4th Artillery, 9th Infantry Division.

In the early hours of 18 November 1967, a reinforced Viet Cong force launched a mortar and ground assault against Firebase Cudgil, west of Cai Lay in the Mekong Delta. Davis, then a private first class, seized a machine gun to protect his artillery crew. After enemy fire struck his howitzer and injured its crew, he returned to the burning weapon. Despite his own wounds and the force of the gun's recoil, he repeatedly loaded and fired shells against the attackers.

When Davis learned that three wounded American soldiers were stranded across a river, he used an air mattress to cross the water despite his injuries and inability to swim. He provided covering fire while helping bring the casualties to safety, then joined another howitzer crew and continued fighting until the enemy withdrew.

Davis recovered from his injuries in Japan and returned to Vietnam in December 1967 before coming home on 13 March 1968. President Lyndon B. Johnson presented him, then a sergeant, with the Medal of Honor at the White House on 19 November 1968. His other decorations included the Silver Star and two Purple Hearts.

After his active combat service, Davis served in the Illinois Army National Guard and ultimately retired as a sergeant first class in 1984. He became a public advocate for veterans and shared his experiences with military and civilian audiences. Footage of his Medal of Honor presentation was incorporated into the film Forrest Gump.