Melvin Morris (born January 7, 1942) is a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

veteran of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

, a Special Forces soldier, and a recipient of the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

Early life, Military Career, Later Life

Melvin Morris and a fellow Soldier take time to pose for a photo taken in South Vietnam

Morris was born in

Okmulgee, Oklahoma Okmulgee is a city in, and the county seat of, Okmulgee County, Oklahoma. The name is from the Mvskoke word ''okimulgee,'' which means "boiling waters".Bamburg, Maxine"Okmulgee,"''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. Accessed June 16 ...

, on January 7, 1942. In 1959 Morris joined the

Oklahoma Army National Guard The Oklahoma Army National Guard is the Army National Guard component of the Oklahoma National Guard. The Commander in Chief of the Oklahoma National Guard is the Governor of Oklahoma, who appoints the State Adjutant General (TAG), a Major Gener ...

and soon after joined the active duty

. In 1961, Morris became one of the first US Army soldiers to qualify as a

Green Beret The green beret was the official headdress of the British Commandos of the Second World War. It is still worn by members of the Royal Marines after passing the Commando Course, and personnel from other units of the Royal Navy, Army and RAF wh ...

Fort Bragg, North Carolina Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within C ...

. He twice volunteered for tours in South Vietnam. Morris retired from the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

with the rank of Sergeant First Class. Morris appeared in the Spring 2019 issue of the American Battlefield Trust's magazine ''Hallowed Ground,'' writing about his visit to

Fort Wagner Fort Wagner or Battery Wagner was a beachhead fortification on Morris Island, South Carolina, that covered the southern approach to Charleston Harbor. It was the site of two American Civil War battles in the campaign known as Operations Again ...

, near Charleston, South Carolina, where Sergeant

William Harvey Carney William Harvey Carney (February 29, 1840 – December 9, 1908) was an American soldier during the American Civil War. Born enslaved, he was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1900 for his gallantry in saving the regimental colors during the Battle of F ...

earned his Medal of Honor while serving with the 54th Massachusetts in 1863. In December 1990, Morris and his family settled in

Brevard County, Florida Brevard County ( ) is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county seat is located in ...

Medal of Honor action

Morris received the

for his valorous actions on September 17, 1969, while commanding the Third Company, Third Battalion of the IV Mobile Strike Force near

Chi Lăng Chi or CHI may refer to: Greek *Chi (letter), the Greek letter (uppercase Χ, lowercase χ); Chinese * ''Chi'' (length) (尺), a traditional unit of length, about ⅓ meter *Chi (mythology) (螭), a dragon * Chi (surname) (池, pinyin: ''chí' ...

, South Vietnam. Then-Staff Sergeant Morris led an advance across enemy lines to recover the body of a fallen sergeant. Morris single-handedly destroyed with a bag of grenades an enemy force in a series of bunkers which was pinning down his battalion. Morris was shot three times during that engagement. Morris received the Medal of Honor from President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

in a March 18, 2014 ceremony in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

. The award came through the Defense Authorization Act, which called for a congressionally-mandated review of minorities including Jewish American and Hispanic American veterans from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and the

to ensure that no prejudice was shown to those deserving the Medal of Honor.

Medal of Honor Citation

Other awards

SFC Morris' awards include:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Melvin 1942 births Living people United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War People from Brevard County, Florida Recipients of the Air Medal United States Army Medal of Honor recipients United States Army soldiers Vietnam War recipients of the Medal of Honor Oklahoma National Guard personnel Members of the United States Army Special Forces