Ive met SGT(R) Davis, and he is a great man, but then you dont need me to tell you that, the fact that he has THE Medal says it all.
Vet's plea: Return Medal of Honor
Highest military award is stolen from retired Army sergeant's car
War hero: Using a howitzer, Sammy L. Davis defended his 42-man unit against hundreds of foes in the Vietnam War. -- Rob Goebel / The Star
By John Tuohy
john.tuohy@indystar.com
Sammy L. Davis was awarded the nation's highest military honor for his bravery and skill during a ferocious Vietnam War firefight that killed about 30 of his comrades.
Davis has kept that Medal of Honor close to his side ever since President Lyndon B. Johnson presented it to him in 1968.
But Friday morning, Indianapolis Police Department officers said, Davis discovered the medal had been stolen during a break-in of the trunk of his car in the parking lot of Wingate Inn Airport, 5797 Rockville Road.
Davis, 58, a retired Army sergeant, is one of only two Hoosiers to have received the medal awarded by Congress.
"A piece of American history has been stolen," said IPD Sgt. Steve Staletovich.
Davis said: "Whoever has it, I can personally forgive you if you return it. Please turn it in. I would even give you a hug."
The thief also took 40 harmonicas Davis plays at military ceremonies, police said.
Davis, a Mooresville High School graduate, lives in Illinois and was in Indianapolis to speak at a veterans reunion.
The medal doesn't just honor him, Davis said.
"It is for all of us," he said. "It is for 31 of my best friends whose hands I held and whose heads I cradled. That medal belongs to them."
Davis received the medal for his heroism in using a howitzer to defend his 42-man unit from hundreds of attacking Viet Cong near Cay Lai on Nov. 18, 1967.
Call Star reporter John Tuohy at (317) 444-6418.