Vet whose Medal of Honor ceremony was used in 'Forrest Gump' tells of PTSD struggles
Source: Omaha World Herald
By Steve Liewer
The man in the military dress uniform blew a mournful “Shenandoah” on his harmonica, his audience in a ballroom at the CenturyLink Center still and silent.
Sammy L. Davis, a Medal of Honor recipient, learned to play the song as a young Army private in Vietnam for a sergeant in his unit who loved the river and the song. The sergeant told Davis it “renewed his heart.”
Years later, he would start a tradition of playing the tune at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. — in front of the spot on Panel 50E, Row 13, where the sergeant's name, Johnston Dunlop, is etched on the wall.
“I hope it finds a place in your heart and renews your soul,” Davis told the crowd of 540, who had gathered to hear him speak at a $50-a-plate fundraiser for At Ease USA, an Omaha-based veterans support group.
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CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Sammy L. Davis and his wife, Dixie, said they still feel the effects of the trauma of Sammy Davis' service in Vietnam more than 45 years ago. He is still tormented by nightmares. “I fight that battle almost every night,” he said. “It doesn't go away.”
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