The Vietnam War’s First Black Medal of Honor Recipient

While in the Army infantry, I served alongside servicemembers of every conceivable ethnicity, religion and gender. No one was given special treatment and I learned very quickly that my life often relied on the men to my left and right.

To reinforce this point, there is a 30-foot, multi-platform tower at infantry school at Fort Benning, Georgia, specifically designed to make young soldiers trust their squadmates. Called “Victory Tower,” there is no way to ascend or descend without assistance from your squad.

When I climbed this same tower in the late 1990s, there was no safety net. Soldiers with 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, attempt to lift a Columbus Lions’ player up the Skyscraper obstacle, a 30-foot tower with four platforms during the 16-obstacle confidence course for soldiers with the 3rd Armored Brigade Co. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army)

A bond forms in the worst of conditions, and I would occasionally ask myself “Would I jump on a grenade to save these jerks?”

Of course I would, because they are my jerks.

The First Black Soldier to Receive the Medal of Honor in Vietnam

It’s often hard to explain to civilians why I would willfully sacrifice my life for a person I may not have known even a year ago. But that is exactly what Milton Lee Olive III did to save four comrades during the Vietnam War. As a result of his heroic self-sacrifice, PFC Olive was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the first Black recipient of the nation’s highest military honor in the Vietnam War.

PFC Olive went to high school in Mississippi and later moved to Chicago, where he…