Paris Davis was born in 1939, in Cleveland, Ohio. As a young man, he became interested in the military and sports, and he pursued both at Southern University, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he studied political science on an ROTC scholarship.
Davis was commissioned as an Army reserve armor officer in 1959, graduated from Airborne and Ranger schools in 1960, and was selected for the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, serving first in Korea and then Vietnam.
Davis first deployed to Vietnam in 1962 and again in 1965, where he was promoted to captain as a detachment commander with the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces making him one of the first African American Special Forces officers as the civil rights movement gained momentum at home.
In Bình Định province, Davis and his men were tasked with training a force of local volunteers. On June 18, 1965, he commanded a team of inexperienced South Vietnamese, along with Special Forces Soldiers, against a superior enemy force. Over the course of two days, Davis selflessly led a charge to neutralize enemy emplacements, called for precision artillery fire, engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, and prevented the capture of three American soldiers (Robert Brown, John Reinberg, and Billy Waugh) while saving their lives with a medical extraction. Davis sustained multiple gunshot and grenade fragment wounds during the 19-hour battle and refused to leave the battlefield until his men were safely removed.
For these heroic acts during his second tour in Vietnam, Davis received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star Medal with “V” device, a Purple Heart with one Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Air Medal with “V” device. He was also awarded the Soldier's Medal for heroism, when he saved the life of a Soldier, a driver who was stuck in an overturned and burning fuel truck. Davis pulled the Soldier from the truck just before it exploded. Davis is one of only four service members in U.S. military history to receive both the Soldier's Medal and the Medal of Honor.
Davis attended Command and General Staff College in 1971 and the Naval War College in 1980. He served with the Army staff, the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Headquarters, U.S. Army European Command.
Davis assumed command of the 10th Special Forces Group, Fort Devens, Massachusetts, and was promoted to colonel in 1981. Davis retired from the Army on July 30, 1985. He holds a master's degree in public affairs from Southern Illinois University, and a Ph.D. in public administration from Northern Virginia University. In 2019, he was inducted into the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame.
Davis is a proud father of three children. Following his military career, Davis published the Metro Herald newspaper for 30 years in Alexandria, Virginia, where he now lives.