Quiet Reflection

Judy and I returned to the park after a very enjoyable weekend.  Memorial Day weekend is considered the official beginning of the summer season and we spend a large portion of the holiday doing lake activities and having family gatherings. 

 Over the years since leaving the Navy in 1995 I have attended many official ceremonies commemorating the holiday. It is a holiday that I always set aside time for silent personal reflection to remember the “fallen”, some I personally knew and many I didn’t.  One of the “fallen” that I didn’t know is Sgt. Rodney Davis even though he was from my home town of Macon, GA.  I learned about him because of a news story almost a decade ago.  The story highlighted the deplorable state of the cemetery and the fact that Sgt. Davis, a “Medal of Honor” recipient was buried there.  This resulted in the condition being corrected.  A local chapter of Marine Veterans took over the upkeep of the Sergeant’s grave and it now is befitting of a “Fallen Hero”.

Medal of Honor citation

The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to

SERGEANT RODNEY M. DAVIS
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as the right guide of the Second Platoon, Company B, First Battalion, Fifth Marines, First Marine Division, in action against enemy forces in Quang Nam Province, Republic of Vietnam, on September 6, 1967. Elements of the Second Platoon were pinned down by a numerically superior force of attacking North Vietnamese Army Regulars. Remnants of the platoon were located in a trench line where Sergeant Davis was directing the fire of his men in an attempt to repel the enemy attack. Disregarding the enemy hand grenades and high volume of small arms and mortar fire, Sergeant Davis moved from man to man shouting words of encouragement to each of them firing and throwing grenades at the onrushing enemy. When an enemy grenade landed in the trench in the midst of his men, Sergeant Davis, realizing the gravity of the situation, and in a final valiant act of complete self-sacrifice, instantly threw himself upon the grenade, absorbing with his own body the full and terrific force of the explosion. Through his extraordinary initiative and inspiring valor in the face of almost certain death, Sergeant Davis saved his comrades from injury and possible loss of life, enabled his platoon to hold its vital position, and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.

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