Global Courant 2023-05-19 06:33:30
Vietnam War veteran receives medal of honor
Nearly 60 years after he was first recommended for the Medal of Honor, retired Green Beret Colonel Paris Davis has received the highest military decoration for his service in Vietnam. Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin has the details.
Actor and humanitarian Gary Sinise will host a “Welcome Home” concert next week for those who served in Vietnam to show his gratitude to veterans.
Sinise told Fox News Digital that his foundation, the Gary Sinise Foundation, will sponsor the May 26 event at Constitution Hall in D.C.
Sinise’s band, the Lt. Dan Band, whom he has played for nearly 20 years, will share the stage with actor and director Joe Mantegna and Medal of Honor recipient, Vietnam Vet Sammy Davis. Eleven prisoners of war will also be present.
The event is particularly significant as it marks the 50th anniversary of the end of combat operations in Vietnam.
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FILE: Actor/Humanitarian Gary Sinise meets Gold Star families at the Gary Sinise Foundation’s Snowball Express Send-Off Celebration at LAX Airport on December 8, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images)
“I just wanted to do something special. I have a lot of Vietnam Veterans in my family and Vietnam Veteran friends…so let’s have one of our morale-boosting celebrations,” Sinise said.
Sinise told Fox News Digital he was inspired to dedicate his life to helping veterans after seeing how they were treated after returning home from Vietnam in the 1970s.
GARY SINISE SHARES WHY HE IS ‘EXCEPTLY GRATEFUL’ FOR AMERICA’S VETERANS
The Lt. Dan Band of the Gary Sinise Foundation performs in The Villages, Florida on October 27, 2019. (Gary Sinise Foundation)
“That was an embarrassing period in our history, the way we treated the men and women who served,” Sinise said, noting the relative dearth of services at the time.
“While services were provided for them… today you have thousands of nonprofits that are in the veterans space addressing the needs and challenges of our returning defenders,” he said. “And I think many of them, like me, were motivated to make sure that what happened to our Vietnam veterans when they got home, that we don’t let it happen again.”
Actor and humanitarian Gary Sinise meets Gold Star families at the Gary Sinise Foundation’s Snowball Express Send-Off Celebration at LAX Airport on December 8, 2018 in Los Angeles (Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images)
Sinise started his foundation in 2011 after volunteering at other organizations for the past decade. Over the past decade, the foundation has helped expand service efforts, providing additional fundraising and outreach to the military, veterans, and first responder communities.
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“I really think that we as citizens who benefit from the sacrifices made by those who defend us can play a part in giving back and making sure they know they are valued, and that there is a grateful nation out there there,” Sinise said.
Bradford Betz is a Fox News Digital breaking reporter covering crime, political issues and much more.
