Hoosier hero calling for ‘respect’ at Super Bowl
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Indiana’s only living Medal of Honor recipient said he was “touched” to learn about the NFL’s plans to recognize decorated war veterans during Super Bowl LII and called for players to “show respect” during the national anthem.
Sgt. Sammy Lee Davis is among the veterans taking part in the ceremonial on-field coin toss ahead of the Eagles-Patriots game in Minneapolis; all 15 are recipients of the Medal of Honor, the most prestigious military award in the United States.
Davis said he looks up to his fellow honorees but was too modest to acknowledge his own heroism.
“I’m not big, bad and brave,” the Vietnam War veteran told 24-Hour News 8 at his home in Freedom, IN. “I’m 72 years old and I’m still scared of the dark.”
Fear – in addition to extensive injuries and enemy fire – didn’t stop Davis from risking his life during a now-legendary night in 1967. He was serving as a cannoneer at a remote base in Vietnam when the Viet Cong launched a fierce attack.
“My ribs were crushed,” Davis recalled. “My back was broken. I was shot 30 times. I had an AK-47 bullet in my right thigh. My gun had already been blown up. But then I seen him [an American] across the river, waving his boonie hat and shouting, ‘Don’t shoot! I’m a G.I.’”
The thought of abandoning one of their own was “crushing,” he said, and far more painful than his wounds. Davis heard his mother’s voice that night – “Don’t you leave your little brother in the woods!” – propelling him to take action. Disregarding orders to take cover and too injured to swim, he struck out across the river on an air mattress.
“It’s amazing what love will motivate you to do,” Davis explained with a faraway look, lost in his vivid memories of Nov. 18, 1967. “Love gives you the strength to do feats that some would say are impossible but because I loved my brothers, I didn’t lose… because I didn’t quit trying.”
He reached the other side of the river and discovered, not one, but three wounded Americans in a foxhole. Davis protected them from advancing enemy fire and managed to guide all three to safety.
“I couldn’t leave a brother behind,” he said simply. “I could hear my mama like she was sitting on my shoulder: ‘Don’t you leave your little brother in the woods!’”
It’s a story he has told countless times – partially to ease the symptoms of PTSD – and one Hoosiers take pride in retelling. Davis now encourages fellow veterans to talk about their own traumatic experiences, an exercise he admits is difficult but credits as immensely healing.
“It’s like letting sunlight into your soul,” he said. “You can’t keep things [bottled up] inside forever.”
Davis and his wife, Dixie, said their mission in life is to speak with veterans, children and anyone they can inspire with their story. With the NFL playing a role in the next chapter, Davis told 24-Hour News 8 he also hopes to speak with football players choosing to kneel or sit during the playing of the anthem.
“To kneel during the national anthem is showing disrespect to all of the men and women who have given their life to earn you the freedom to do that,” he said. “Please don’t abuse it.”