MOH Sammy Davis Returns From Vietnam

Veteran whose actions were adapted for ‘Forrest Gump’ returns to Vietnam
WTTV CBS News
By Russ McQuaid
JULY 4, 2016 

"I stood on the exact same piece of dirt that I earned this medal on.  I been waiting to go back for forty years." Sammy L. Davis

OWEN COUNTY, Ind.-- Truth be told, Sammy L. Davis doesn’t remember the last time he left Fire Support Base Cudgel west of Cai Lay in what was then called South Vietnam 48 years ago. Davis was choppered off the battlefield, severely wounded, after a night of war that saved the lives of three fellow Americans, held off an enemy onslaught and resulted in Davis being awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

This Independence Day, the night of November 18, 1967, is once again fresh in Davis’ memory as the Mooresville native has just returned from his first visit back to the riverbank where Hoosier-bred heroics were displayed and lives were changed nearly a half century ago.

“I stood on the exact same piece of dirt that I earned this medal on,” said Davis as he held the honor that hung from a sky blue ribbon around his neck during a recent memorial service. “I been wanting to go back for forty years.

Davis was promoted to sergeant for what he did at Fire Support Base Cudgel. He also received the Medal of Honor, a Silver Star and two Purple Hearts.
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