Nicky Daniel Bacon (November 25, 1945 – July 17, 2010) was a United States Army first sergeant from the Americal Division who served during the Vietnam War.

For his actions in combat in Tam Ky, Vietnam, Bacon was awarded America's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor.

His parents, Johno and Beta Imogene "Jean" (Meadows) Bacon, were sharecroppers on a cotton farm.

His siblings were sisters Jenny, Brenda, Judy, Hope, and Wanda and brothers Doyle, Johno Jr., and Andy.

In 1951, a poor farming economy prompted the family to move to Glendale, Arizona, where Johno Bacon's parents lived.

Nicky Bacon grew up driving tractors and picking cotton on the ranch where his father worked.

He dropped out of Peoria High School to work full-time to support the family when his father contracted polio, although he later earned a GED.

The next year, he joined the US Army, and after basic training at Fort Ord in California, he was stationed in Worms, Germany.

On August 26, 1968, while leading a squad in Bravo Company's 1st Platoon, in an operation west of Tam Kỳ, Bacon and his unit came under fire from enemy positions.

"[10] After his military retirement, Bacon returned with his wife, Tamera Ann, to Arizona and worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs at their Phoenix regional office.

He was appointed director of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs by Governor Jim Guy Tucker in April 1993 and served until his final retirement in February 2005.

He "used the recognition he received throughout his life to draw attention to veterans' issues" and "considered the cemetery one of his greatest accomplishments" according to his brother John.

[3][11] Bacon was part of the official United States delegation to normalize relations with Vietnam in 1995 and traveled to Israel in the late 1990s on behalf of Jewish veterans to urge the Israeli government not to cede the Golan Heights to Syria.

He later served as president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and Chair Emeritus of the American Board for Certification in Homeland Security.

Bacon was also inducted into the Military Police Hall of Fame at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

"[20] Bacon's burial took place with full military honors at the Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery in North Little Rock on July 24.

[21] Likewise, "a Memorial Room at an American Legion Post in Little Rock now honors Nick Bacon.

3870X, which was introduced by Congressman Timothy Griffin (R-AR) and acted to "designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 6083 Highway 36 West in Rose Bud, Arkansas, as the Nicky "Nick" Daniel Bacon Post Office.'"

[23][24] Heber Springs, Arkansas installed a new flagpole and a memorial marker honoring Bacon in the town ball park in 2012.

Bacon distinguished himself while serving as a squad leader with the 1st Platoon, Company B, during an operation west of Tam Ky.

Bacon's extraordinary efforts, his company was able to move forward, eliminate the enemy positions, and rescue the men trapped to the front.

Bacon's bravery at the risk of his life was in the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S.