Watch live: President Joe Biden awards the Medal of Honor to Colonel Paris Davis | USA TODAY

Paris Davis, one of the first Black commanders to lead an elite unit in combat, saved the lives of fellow soldiers despite being wounded himself.

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One of the first Black commanders to lead an elite unit in combat is receiving the nation's highest award for valor, fixing what advocates viewed as a decades-long injustice. President Joe Biden will award the prestigious honor to retired U.S. Army Col. Paris D. Davis at a White House ceremony Friday.

Davis dragged fellow soldiers to safety despite being wounded himself as he held off a vastly superior enemy force during a 1965 raid on a North Vietnamese army camp in Bong Son, according to the White House. The package of recommendations and supporting documents for a Medal of Honor for Davis was lost at least twice as his nomination bounced around the Army and the Pentagon for nearly six decades.

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6 comments

  1. Wow, he is a bonafied HERO! Talk about brave!! I love at the end how President Biden had to run a little to catch up with him. He’s active and still moving!!

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