Bacon remembered as hero at service

LITTLE ROCK — After a ceremony praising Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Nicky Bacon’s service to fellow veterans and his country, a medivac helicopter led three combat Black Hawks in a flyover as his family members were presented with neatly folded flags.

Bacon, who received the medal for his actions during a battle in Vietnam in 1968 and died July 17 at 64, was remembered as a humble man who looked out for his fellow soldiers.

He was believed to be the last living Arkansan to be awarded the medal.

Bacon served as the director of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs from April 1993 to February 2005, where he pushed for the creation of the Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery in North Little Rock. He was also sought out by Gov. Mike Beebe for advice on veterans affairs.

“Until the day he died, he did all he could to help the veterans,” Beebe said at Bacon’s memorial.

Hundreds attended the event Saturday, including several other medal of honor recipients and a host of Patriot Guard Riders, who surrounded the ceremony with American flags.

Gene Cunningham, pastor of Basic Training Bible Ministries, shared a few stories on the “legend” he knew well. He said one of his first experiences with Bacon was when he moved into town without asking for help.

Cunningham said that when his neighbors found out, they came over to help Bacon and his family move in. The pastor said his and Bacon’s families have become close over the years, and he told the soldier’s family that Bacon was much more than a medal of honor winner.

“He left you an example of a great man and a great human being,” he said.

Leo Thorsness, president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, echoed the pastor’s sentiments in an interview at a reception that followed at a memorial at Camp Robinson.

He said Bacon added a lot to the society, which now has 88 living members, in the way he represented veterans and spoke to people.

“What he said was worth listening to,” Thorsness said.

Bacon’s son, Army Staff Sgt. James Bacon, said in an interview at the reception that the most important advice he took from his father was to “take care of each other,” including family and fellow soldiers. He said his father’s words and actions will continue to live on in others, as they do in him.

“I try to elevate myself to his standards.”