Sammy Lee Davis - You Dont Lose Til You Quit Trying: Lessons on Adversity and Victory from a Vietnam Veteran and Medal of Honor Recipient

In 1967, Sammy L. Davis was at war.

Like his grandfathers, his father, and his two brothers before him, Sammy was now a US Army soldier. Back then, I was still in grade school and had no idea what Sammy and his fellow brothers in arms were doing so far away in Southeast Asia. I knew nothing of the challenges they faced and the difficulties theyd have when they returned home. It was a little later in life, when I was in my early twenties, that I received a real education from the Vietnam veterans in my wifes family. They told me what it was like to fight there, to lose comrades and friends, and then to return home to a divided nation that had turned its back on them.

Sammy L. Davis was one of those soldiers fighting for his country in the jungles of Vietnam, and Vietnam changed Sammys life forever: Besides the memory of war that soldiers live with for the rest of their lives, he also received the nations highest military honor for valor in combat, the Congressional Medal of Honor.

I have had the great pleasure and privilege to get to know Sammy over the years through the Medal of Honor Foundation and our mutual support of todays active-duty service members and of the veterans who have come before them. I am also proud that he is an ambassador of the Gary Sinise Foundation.

He is a kind, gentle man of great strength and faith. A tender warrior who continues to give in service of something greater than himself. Each day, with courage, dignity, and his lifelong devotion to Duty, Honor, Country, Sammy honors all his fallen brothers, those for whom he wears the medal.

His is an extraordinary story. Yet he would be the first to tell you that he was simply an ordinary soldier doing his job. On November 18, 1967, fighting an enemy force of over fifteen hundred with only forty-two fellow soldiers in his artillery unit, he did his joband more.

About the medal and going to war, in his own very humble words, he says:

I didnt do anything heroic. I did my job. Thats what soldiers do. And if there was one of these [medals] given that night, there should be at least forty-two of them. Because if any one of us had not done his job, there would be none of us alive. It sounds silly perhaps to say that I went to war and found out about love. What real love is. You know, I didnt go to war to kill people. I went to war because I loved my daddy, I wanted him to be proud of me. I went to war because I loved my grandpas, and I loved my country. And when I got over there... the reason why we fought so hard was because we discovered we loved each other, that we were all we had. And they became brothers. We became brothers. And thats lasted up... you know... its been thirty-six years, and those men that I fought with are still my brothers. So I learned about what real love is.

I have learned a great deal from this brave, humble soldier and his giving heart. His story, told in the following pages, will grip you, and move you, and inspire you, and teach you about love, as Sammy has done for me. I love him dearly, and after reading this story, I have no doubt that you will too.

I am grateful that our country has such men and women, who give so much of themselves, so that we can remain free.

And to Sammy, let me simply say: Thank you, brother.

Preface

FIRE SUPPORT BASE CUDGEL, MEKONG DELTA, VIETNAM

NOVEMBER 18, 1967

Hey, Davis! Wake up! Cant keep my eyes open. Talk to me, man! I need to stay awake until my guards over.

It seems I have only been asleep for minutes.

I sit up and look at my watch. 1:45 a.m. Only fifteen minutes and I will replace Marvin Hart anyway. So I slip on my boots and grab some instant-coffee packets out of my C rations. I find an empty C ration can, dip it in the rice paddy, and fill it with murky water. I light a cloth sandbag and stuff it inside an empty 105mm canister, hang my tin of water on top, and wait for it to boil. One cup of gourmet coffee coming up!