"Above all, I see myself as a man of action. . ."

— General Raymond G. Davis

Raymond G. Davis was born to Zelma Tribby Davis and Raymond Roy Davis in Fitzgerald, Georgia, in 1915. After graduating from Atlanta Technical High School, where he participated in ROTC and varsity wrestling, Davis entered the chemical engineering program at Georgia Tech. Serving in the ROTC and working in a bakery at night to make ends meet, Davis managed to have an active social life while completing a rigorous course of study. He completed his Bachelor of Science in 1938 and was selected as Georgia Tech's candidate for a Marine Commission for that year.

As a major at Guadalcanal and Peleliu in World War II, Davis earned the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism. As lieutenant colonel in the Korean War, he received the Medal of Honor. And, as major general and commanding general in Vietnam, he won the Distinguished Service Medal. In addition to his service in battle, Davis also served in every possible staff or command assignment—including Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps—during his career in the military. He became one of the most decorated veterans in U.S. History. In his "retirement," General Davis engineered the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C.; ran the Georgia Chamber of Commerce; and represented veterans, at home and abroad, as he gave talks about U.S. foreign policy in Northeast Asia.

An officer and a gentleman, Davis married Willa "Knox" Heafner in 1942. In General Davis' absence during times of war—a total of almost six years—Mrs. Davis ran the home and the family, but the couple stayed connected with daily correspondence. In letters and conversation, the general and his colleagues consistently praised Mrs. Davis for her own strength and courage as a Marine Corps wife.

General Davis passed away September 3, 2003. He is survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter and seven grandchildren.

Timeline

1915 born to Zelma and Raymond Davis
1938 graduates from Georgia Tech with a B.S. of Chemical Engineering;
attends The Basic School under Company Commander, Captain Chesty Puller
1942 marries Willa Knox Heafner
1943 leads First Battalion, First Marines, against Japanese at Peleliu, for which he earns the Navy Star
1950 marches through icy mountains under enemy fire to secure Toktong Pass, an action that saves the trapped Fox company and enables two regiments to evade enemy forces
1952 receives Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman at White House ceremony
1957 serves as Assistant G-2 (Intelligence), Marine Corps Headquarters
1959 attends National War College
1960 relocates to Paris as Chief, Intelligence Analysis Branch, J-2
1968 reports to Vietnam as Deputy Commanding General, later becomes Commanding General, 3rd Marine Division
1971 receives fourth star and serves as Assistant Commandant, USMC
1972 retires from USMC, becomes Executive Vice President of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce
1975 becomes President, RGMW, Inc., a land development corporation
1987 agrees, at President Ronald Reagan’s request, to serve on the Korean War Veteran’s Memorial Committee
1989 Willa Knox Davis christens the USS CHOSIN
1991 attends round-table conference in Pyonyang, North Korea
1995 presides at inauguration of Korean War Memorial, for which he was committee chair
2000 selected as co-chair of Korean War Foundation to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Korean War
2002 visits North Korea as a part of a U.S. government mission to recover remains of U.S. casualties of the Korean War
2003 nominated by Senator Zell Miller for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, serves as national co-chairman of the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Korean War and as chairman of About Face, America

General Davis died September 3, 2003. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael W. Hagee, Senator Zell Miller, and Georgia Governor Sonny Purdue, along with hundreds of Marine Veterans, attended memorial services.

Military Honors

Medal of Honor
Navy Cross
Distinguished Service Medal (2)
Silver Star (2)
Legion of Merit (2)
Bronze Star
Purple Heart