I found this article online about a Vietnam War veteran who just recently received a medal of honor for his time as a soldier. Obama recently gave out 24 of these medals to soldiers from World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam who had been previously passed up because of racism. Only three are still alive to receive the honor including Melvin Morris who served as a sergeant in Vietnam. Morris talk about a mission in which they went to a village near Chi Lang. The village was eerie and suspicious to the soldiers and they soon heard enemy gunfire. Firefight broke out leading to casualties, including a sergeant. Morris says, “I knew I had to go and recover his body. You don’t leave a soldier behind.” He did go back and retrieve the body as well as some maps and documents. Morris also describes his return to the states, which wasn’t a celebrated homecoming. He was simply greeted by his wife and kids. It’s great that he is finally receiving proper recognition for his bravery but it also makes you think of all the soldiers who also should have received this honor but have since died. It’s sad to think that so many deserving soldiers were never given proper recognition because of their race.
Works Cited:
R. Norman Moody. “Vietnam Vet to Receive Long-Delayed Medal of Honor.” Usatoday.com. Web. 20 March 2014
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