Holcomb awards Indiana's highest honor to Vietnam veteran

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Gov. Eric Holcomb is awarding Indiana's highest honor to a Vietnam veteran and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.

Sammy L. Davis of Freedom will receive the 2018 Sachem Award during a ceremony in March.

Davis was near the South Vietnamese city of Cai Lay in 1967 when his unit came under fire. He was wounded, but took over a burning artillery piece and fired off several rounds at the Viet Cong. He then used an air mattress to cross a river and rescue wounded before joining another unit with a howitzer to continue fighting.

Davis broke his back, but continued serving in the Army until 1984.

The 71-year-old joins a distinguished group of Sachem winners, including Holocaust survivor Eva Mozes Kor and late Notre Dame President Theodore Hesburgh.