Retired Col. Paris D. Davis was preparing to receive the Medal of Honor—the Nation’s highest military honor— for serving during the Vietnam War after the initial filing vanished nearly 56 years ago. He only needed one thing before the White House ceremony with President Biden: a full uniform.
The White House Ceremonies team reached out to the Fort Myer Exchange Military Clothing store two weeks ahead of the ceremony to order a Vietnam-era uniform with decorations for Col. Davis.
“Typically, we have two months to prepare a uniform for Medal of Honor ceremonies,” said Fort Myer MCS Manager Alan Poe. “Since it had been a long time coming to present Col. Davis with this honor, the White House wanted to hold the ceremony as soon as possible and even held it at the White House instead of at the Pentagon.”
In need of Vietnam-era military decorations to appropriately fit the retired Colonel, Poe reached out to Store Manager David Dingwell at the Fort Bragg MCS—the only MCS that offers the Special Operations uniform.
“Col. Davis was one of the first Black Special Forces officers of that time,” Poe said. “Some of his awards were from South Vietnam, which is no longer a country.”
Poe’s team worked with the Fort Bragg MCS team to get a green beret and Special Forces flash (a patch worn on the beret that denotes the unit.) Since many of the decorations were inaccessible, Poe’s team sought out other avenues, including the use of South Vietnam jump wings from a Veteran at the local VFW post.
“A Veteran offered his jump wings and name plate for Col. Davis to wear to the ceremony. He said he would be proud to see it on a Medal of Honor recipient,” Poe said.
After the initial fitting, Col. Davis returned to try on his uniform. The MCS team noticed the uniform trousers didn’t fit. Poe reached out to Christopher Kershaw, the Exchange’s replenishment and allocation analyst at AAFES HQ, to retrieve and send trousers.
“I realized this was more than an emergency situation and instant-messaged Shelly Reinert at the Dan Daniel Distribution Center to request her assistance in overnighting the trousers,” Kershaw said. “I made sure I received a tracking number as I was anxious to meet the quick deadline. I was so relieved when I received word that Col. Davis was fitted in time.”
Col. Davis received an in-room alterations service at his hotel on the morning of the ceremony. The Exchange team altered his pants to stop at the top of his shoes as Col. Davis opted to wear shoes instead of boots.
“His uniform looked great! Providing in-room personal alterations was the perfect detail for a Medal of Honor recipient,” Poe said. “I want to thank everyone, especially Shelly, for the quick response. Overnighting the trousers was the only way we could make this happen in time, but that’s AAFES—it’s what we do.”
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