Vietnam vet gets Medal of Honor after 60-year wait

At the White House, President Biden awarded the Medal of Honor to a black Vietnam vet who saved three injured soldiers during a fierce battle. It's a recognition that took nearly 58 years to happen, writing what some see as a shameful wrong. Lester Holt reports. REP. LESTER HOLD, President of the United States of America, has been waiting more than a half a century for his country to honor his heroism. Davis crawled through blood, mud, pain and withering enemy fire, carrying his wounded comrades on his back to reach this moment at the White House. That it took a battle against bureaucracy for him to receive the Medal of Honor leaves many who have heard his story dumbfounded.

It's been a long time coming. What's the moment feel like? Everything is good. I feel very comfortable and it took a while. It took a long while. But it's here and I'm really proud to be an American. It was early summer, 1965, just months after Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama. Then Captain Davis, a green beret on his second tour in Vietnam, at war for his country, while back at home in some ways his country was fighting him.

Then one day his commanding officer asked him to be in charge. He made a point of saying, you know, this is an all-white tea. As a black man, do you think you could have it? I said, no problem right here, sir. There's a couple of guys from Alabama. One from Mississippi. Is that going to be a problem? I said, I don't think so, sir. He and three other special forces soldiers were tasked with training South Vietnamese troops.

Then one June night he led them into a ferocious battle. Specialist Robert Brown was wounded and pinned down. Davis crawled out to get him, suffering a shrapnel wound from a grenade. It knocked off some of my teeth and. Trigger finger. And my trigger finger. Was shot off.

It hurt, but it didn't hurt that much that I was stopped. And once I got out there, Brown said to me, sir, am I going to die? And I remember saying to him, not before me. After rescuing Brown, Davis crawled back onto the battlefield to help Master Sergeant Billy Waugh, who was pinned down, his leg in tatters. Had him to take his one good leg and wrap it around my body. And it was mud and blood. I mean, it was just a hell of a place to be. This is heroism led his commander to nominate him for the Medal of Honor, but the Army lost the paperwork.

He was renominated four years later, and again, it vanished. Some blame racism. Ron Deis fought with Davis, one of many who advocated for this honor. Is there any really plausible explanation as to how this could have happened? I don't have one. You think it was race? I do. I absolutely do. Did you fear that it would never happen? I forgot that it could happen.

Today at the White House, an honor delayed, but so richly deserved.

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