Book Review for Every Weapon I Had: A Vietnam Vet's Long Road to the Medal of Honor by Paris Davis

 

Every Weapon I Had: A Vietnam Vet's Long Road to the Medal of Honor by Paris Davis

Published:  June 17, 2025 by St. Martin's Press

Genre: Memoir, Biography

Taken from Goodreads:  The story of a Green Beret commander's heroism during the Vietnam War, and the long fight to recognize his bravery.

When Col. Paris Davis was selected to lead one of the secretive Green Beret A-teams organizing indigenous resistance to Communist incursions into South Vietnam, his commanding officer warned him that some of his soldiers would resent his authority. This was no surprise; there were only a handful of Black officers in the Special Forces, and the Civil Rights movement was gaining momentum back home--his detachment landed in Binh Dinh Province in April 1965, only weeks after the merciless attacks on activists marching on Selma. Davis quickly won the respect of his soldiers, and would soon fight beside him as bullets snapped past and mortars exploded overhead.

On June 18th, Davis led a group of inexperienced local villagers and Special Forces soldiers in an attack on a Viet Cong base in Bong Son. They were met by a superior enemy force, and Davis led the charge in a grueling firefight, engaging in hand-to-hand combat when his rifle jammed. He was seriously wounded, but he disobeyed a direct order to retreat until he dragged three injured Green Berets off the battlefield to safety.

Think Only This Of Me is an inspiring tale of valor and sacrifice, set against the backdrop of major escalations in both the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement. It is also a story of deferred honor and delayed recognition; Davis earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his actions, but his nomination for the Congressional Medal of Honor was repeatedly "lost." No official reason has ever been given for this oversight, but those who fought to correct it believe that it was motivated by racial prejudice. Davis was finally awarded the Medal in 2023, 58 years after the battle.

 

My Thoughts:  This book gave me an inside look into the life of a man in the military during the Vietnam War.  This man gave everything he has to support and protect the men he serves with.  He expects only the high quality of attention from them and gives them same back.  He does not ask of them anything he would not do himself.  Add to all of the above that he is a black man mostly serving with white men during a time of discrimination. 

A book of non-fiction, especially written about war, is not always easy to read.  A lot of times it reads as a bunch of facts put together to share a life story.  Every Weapon I Had is non-fiction but it read as a story full of hands-on accounts of life events.  I could not put down Paris Davis’s story.   He gave so much detail in his story that I could easily picture what he was describing, many times feeling as if I was right beside him.  

I finished this book with more knowledge of the Vietnam War but also so much more respect for those who put their lives on the line to fight. 

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads

Purchase your own copy on Amazon