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TULSA, Okla. – Melvin Morris, having learned a fellow U.S. Army
Special Forces team leader had just been killed, gathered a small
team together. Fighting men like Morris never leave a fallen comrade
behind, even if those left behind are already dead. Within minutes,
Morris and his men were fighting for own their lives.
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Oklahoma State Rep. Ken Walker (left),
Sgt. 1st Class Melvin Morris (center), retired and Sgt. 1st Class
Paul Andert, retired, during a veterans breakfast hosted of the
Marine Corps League, Albert E. Schwab Detachment 875 in Broken
Arrow, OK on April 26, 2014. Morris is being honored by the Tulsa
based detachment of the Marine Corps League during the
organization's Medal of Honor Day celebrations. (Photo by Sgt.
Anthony Jones, 145th MPAD, Oklahoma Army National Guard)
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It was 1969 near Chi Lang, Republic of Vietnam and a long
way from Okmulgee, Okla., where Morris had enlisted a decade
earlier in the Oklahoma National Guard. With enemy machine
guns firing directly at the Green Beret, he destroyed four
enemy bunkers with hand grenades. Then, after clearing a way
through enemy Soldiers to his fallen comrade, he retrieved
the Soldier's body and began the arduous trek back to
friendly forces.
While fighting to recover the fallen
Soldier's body, Morris was wounded three times. Two members
of his team were also wounded, but Morris and his men had
accomplished their mission – they didn't leave a fallen man
behind.
Assigned to 3rd Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th
Mobile Strike Force, it was during his first tour in Vietnam
when he led the advance through enemy lines to recover the
fallen Soldier. For his extraordinary and heroic efforts,
Morris was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in April
1970.
Some 30 days later, Morris volunteered to
return to Vietnam for a second tour.
Life went on
after Vietnam and Morris decided to make the military his
career. Morris stayed with Special Forces in various
positions until 1982 and eventually retired in 1985 while
stationed at Fort Hood, Texas.
Some 45 years later
after that fateful day, Morris was one of 24 Army veterans
presented with the Medal of Honor last March by President
Barack Obama after a review of their records determined
their previous Distinguished Service Crosses should be
upgraded.
“It is great to be honored,” Morris said,
who now lives in Florida. “It is overwhelming, but I accept
it and I want to carry it the best I can. I understand a lot
of people really cherish the idea of a Medal of Honor and
they look up to you.”
Before his actions during the
September 1969 battle, Morris began his 26-year-long
military career with Oklahoma's famed 45th Infantry
Division.
The retired Sgt. 1st Class originally
enlisted because of the opportunity it represented. In 1959,
Morris's hometown lacked jobs and the Guard gave him a
chance to gain skills that would help him find a job.
“Back then it was hard, the economy wasn't as great as
it is today,” Morris said. “We said three hots, a cot and a
paycheck... so I joined the National Guard.”
After
serving one year in the Oklahoma Army National Guard, Morris
volunteered for active duty. “When we went to the summer
camp I said, “I like this,'” Morris said, using the term
many Soldiers at the time called the National Guard's two
week period of training now known as annual training. “So I
came back and volunteered for active duty, and from that
point on, I stayed in the military.”
In 1961, Morris
heard about a group of Soldiers others were calling “Sneaky
Pete” and “snake eaters”. This fascinated Morris, who
described himself as an Oklahoma country-boy looking for
adventure.
So Morris signed up to see if he had what
it took to be a Green Beret. He was only 19, but he earned
the right to don the famous Green Beret, the symbol of
Special Forces. He was assigned to the 5th Special Forces
Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
After
surviving combat and many close engagements with an enemy
that wanted to kill him and his fellows, Morris said he
doesn't call himself a hero, instead he tells others to
remember those who never made it home from war.
“We
have to honor the fallen,” Morris said. “We have so many men
who gave the ultimate sacrifice. They didn't get decorated,
none of the glory, but they gave all and we have to honor
them as well as the living.”
Recently Morris was the
guest of honor at the Medal of Honor Day Ceremony in Tulsa,
Oklahoma, hosted by the Marine Corps League, Albert E.
Schwab Detachment 857.
“I would like to accept this
award for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice, the
ones who gave their lives for this country,” he said. “Once
you put on that uniform and step on foreign soil, you've
already decided to give your life for your country. I'm
proud of every American in uniform and I want to thank each
and every one of you. Let's not forget the ones who gave the
ultimate sacrifice, their life.”
By Oklahoma Army National Guard Sgt. Anthony Jones
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2014
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