Highlighting Medal of Honor Recipients: Army Sgt. 1st Class Sammy Lee Davis

When a huge wave of Viet Cong troops threatened to overwhelm Army Sgt. 1st Class Sammy Lee Davis' battalion at a small fire base in Vietnam, he jumped into action to fight back. Despite suffering several injuries, Davis traversed a river to save three of his comrades and did what he could to stop the onslaught. He received the Medal of Honor for his efforts.

Davis was born on Nov. 1, 1946, in Dayton, Ohio, to Robert and Bonnie Davis. Due to his father's job, his family moved around a lot, and he was raised mostly outside of Stockton, California.

Davis went to Manteca High School in Manteca, California, where he played football and was on the diving team, according to a 2010 article in the town's local newspaper, the Manteca Bulletin. When his family moved to Indiana in his senior year, he decided to enlist in the military. So, in September 1966, after graduating from Mooresville High School, he joined the Army just as the war in Vietnam was escalating.

At the time, Davis said he felt like he needed to do his part because everyone else in his family had. His father served in World War II and his grandfather served in the Spanish-American War. One of his three brothers, Buddy, served in Korea, while another brother, Darrell, was already serving in Vietnam, he told the Manteca Bulletin.