Gen. Davis, Marine Hero at Chosin Reservoir, Dies at 88

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2003 – The U.S. Marine Corps, indeed the entire country, lost an honest-to-goodness American hero Sept. 3. Retired Gen. Raymond Davis, who earned the Medal of Honor in the Korean War, died in Conyers, Ga., at the age of 88.

Davis was a hero by anybody's definition. He was the 28- year-old commander of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, when Chinese forces attacked at the Chosin Reservoir on Nov. 27, 1950, Thanksgiving Day. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for personally leading his men over treacherous frozen terrain to rescue a rifle company under intense enemy fire.

According to his Medal of Honor citation, Davis "spearheaded his unit in a fierce attack up the steep, ice- covered slopes in the face of withering fire and, personally leading the assault groups in a hand-to-hand encounter, drove the hostile troops from their positions."

Surrounded by the Chinese and heavily outnumbered, 10,000 Marines battled their way to safety down 40 miles of winding mountain road in sub-arctic weather. Veterans of the campaign have called themselves the "Chosin Few" ever since.

Davis had also fought in the Pacific in Word War II with the 1st Marine Division. He went on to serve as commander of the 3rd Marine Division in Vietnam and retired as assistant commandant of the Marine Corps in 1972.

The retired general had a close, personal relationship with Marine Gen. James L. Jones, current commander of U.S. European Command. Davis was close to Jones' father when their families lived in France in the mid-1950s. Jones served as first-base coach on the Little League baseball team Davis managed, and their careers kept them close.

In Vietnam, Jones -- then a young lieutenant -- served a stint as then-Maj. Gen. Davis's aide. In an interview with American Forces Press Service that took place during the 2000 reunion of Chosin Reservoir veterans, Davis relayed a humorous story from the period.

When Davis called Jones to work at the division headquarters, he recalled, he received a letter from the lieutenant's uncle, then-Lt. Gen. William Jones, that read: "Ray, when you got Jim out of that rifle company back to be your aide, there were a lot of 'Hallelujahs' in the Jones family."

Jones later said he believed he was actually in more danger traveling with Davis, because the general always felt he needed to be where the action was.

"Gen. Ray Davis' passing represents the end of one of the defining eras of the United States Marine Corps," Jones said. "As a Marine, as a man, and as a husband and father, his legendary exploits during World War II, Korea and Vietnam significantly enhanced the reputation and ideals which will continue to define the Marine Corps in the 21st century."

After Davis retired from the Marines, he became a tireless advocate for Marine issues. He stayed active in the association of Chosin Reservoir veterans and often enlisted Jones' help on Marine issues while Jones was Marine commandant before being named EUCOM commander.

"His contributions to veterans and families since he retired from active duty were no less inspirational than were his contributions of the battlefields of our nation's wars," Jones said.

Davis is survived by his wife, Willa; two sons, Raymond Davis Jr. of Covington, Ga., and Gordon Miles Davis, who lives in Alabama; a daughter, Willa Kerr of Stockbridge, N.Y.; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Davis' full biography is available in Who's Who in Marine Corps History.

What a genuine hero!

Many of these old veterans are dying off now, most of them quietly. The following obituary was taken from our today's newspaper:

September 07. 2003 12:00AM

Richard T. Revelle, 91

Richard Thomas Revelle, 91, of Hendersonville died Thursday, Sept. 4, 2003, at Mission St. Joseph's Hospital.

He was a native of Branchville, Va., and a prior resident of Columbus, Ga., before moving to Henderson County in 1994. He was a son of the late Robert P. Revelle and Elizabeth Simmons Revelle and husband of the late Georgia J. Revelle, who died in 1998. He was also preceded in death by four brothers, Clyde Revelle, Harold Revelle, Robert Revelle and John Revelle; and his granddaughter, Erin Revelle Hawk.

He served in the Army for 28 years, retiring in 1960 as Chief Warrant Officer. While in the military, he served during World War II in the 6th Army Group under General Omar Bradley in Central Europe and the Rhine. Later during the Korean War, he served with the 3rd Infantry Division. He was a survivor of the Chosin Basin Reservoir, where he received the Combat Infantry Badge and the Silver Star. He was a life member of the Reserve Officers Association as well as the Retired Officers Association. He received his bachelor of science degree in history and social studies from Columbus State University after retiring from the Army. He was a charter member of Epworth United Methodist Church in Columbus, Ga.

Each one of these great men passing makes us poorer as a nation.

LIEUTENANT GENERAL LEWIS B. PULLER, USMC

NAMESAKE OF USS LEWIS B. PULLER (FFG 23)

Lieutenant General Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller was a colorful veteran of the Korean War, four World War II campaigns, and expeditionary service in China, Nicaragua, and Haiti. He was the only Marine to win the Navy Cross five times for heroism and gallantry in combat.

A Marine officer and enlisted man for 37 years, General Puller served at sea or overseas for all but ten of those years, including a hitch as commander of the "Horse Marines" in China. Excluding medals from foreign governments, he won a total of 14 personal decorations in combat, plus a long list of campaign medals, unit citation ribbons and other awards. In addition to the Navy Crosses, the highest honor the Navy can bestow, he holds its Army equivalent, the Distinguished Service Cross.

Born 26 June 1898, at West Point, Virginia, the general attended Virginia Military Institute until enlisting in the Marine Corps in August 1918. He was appointed a Marine Reserve second lieutenant 16 June 1919, but due to force reductions after World War I, was placed on inactive duty ten days later. He rejoined the Marines as an enlisted man to serve with the Gendarmerie d'Haiti, a military force in that country under a treaty with the United States. Most of its officers were U. S. Marines, while its enlisted personnel were Haitians.

After almost five years in Haiti, where he saw frequent action against the Caco rebels, Puller returned in March 1924 to the United States. He was commissioned a Marine second lieutenant that same month, and during the next two years, served at the Marine Barracks, Norfolk, Virginia, completed the Basic School at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and served with the 10th Marine Regiment at Quantico, Virginia.

In July of 1926, Puller embarked for a two-year tour of duty at the Marine Barracks, Pearl Harbor. Returning in June 1928, he served in San Diego, California, until he joined the Nicaraguan National Guard Detachment that December. After winning his first Navy Cross in Nicaragua, he returned to the United States in July 1931 to enter the Company Officers Course at the Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia. He completed the course in June 1932 and returned to Nicaragua the following month to begin the tour of duty that brought him a second Navy Cross.

In January 1933, Puller left Nicaragua for the United States. A month later he sailed from San Francisco to join the Marine Detachment of the American Legation at Peiping, China. There, in addition to other duties, he commanded the famed "Horse Marines." Without coming back to the United States, he began a tour of sea duty in USS AUGUSTA of the Asiatic Fleet. In June 1936 he returned to the United States to become an instructor in the Basic School at Philadelphia. He left there in May 1939 to serve another year as commander of the AUGUSTA's Marine Detachment, and from that cruiser, joined the 4th Marine Regiment at Shanghai, China, in May 1940.

After serving as a battalion executive and commanding officer with the 4th Marines, Puller sailed for the United States in August 1941. In September, he took command of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, at Camp Lejeune. That Regiment was detached from the 1st Division in March 1942 and the following month, as part of the 3rd Marine Brigade, sailed for the Pacific theater. The 7th Regiment rejoined the 1st Marine Division in September 1942, and Puller, still commanding its 1st Battalion, went on to win his third Navy Cross at Guadalcanal.

The action that brought him that medal occurred on the night of October 24-25 1942. For a desperate three hours his battalion, stretched over a mile-long front, was the only defense between vital Henderson Airfield and a regiment of seasoned Japanese troops. In pouring jungle rain the Japanese smashed repeatedly at his thin line, as General Puller moved up and down its length to encourage his men and direct the defense. After reinforcements arrived, he commanded the augmented force until late the next afternoon. The defending Marines suffered less than 70 casualties in the engagement while 1400 of the enemy were killed and 17 truckloads of Japanese equipment were recovered by the Americans.

After Guadalcanal, Puller became executive officer of the 7th Marines. He was fighting in that capacity when he won his fourth Navy Cross at Cape Gloucester in January 1944. There, when the commanders of the two battalions were wounded, he took over their units and moved through heavy machine-gun and mortar fire to reorganize them for attack, then led them in taking a strongly fortified enemy position.

In February 1944, Puller took command of the 1st Marines at Cape Gloucester. After leading that regiment for the remainder of the campaign, he sailed with it for the Russell Islands in April 1944. He went on to command it at Peleliu in September and October 1944. He returned to the United States in November 1944, named executive officer of the Infantry Training Regiment at Camp Lejeune in January 1945, and took command of that regiment the next month.

In August 1946, Puller became Director of the 8th Marine Corps Reserve District, with headquarters at New Orleans, Louisiana. After that assignment, he commanded the Marine Barracks at Pearl Harbor until August 1950, when he arrived at Camp Pendleton, California, to re-establish and take command of the 1st Marines, the same regiment he had led at Cape Gloucester and Peleliu.

Landing with the 1st Marines at Inchon, Korea, in September 1950, he continued to head that regiment until January 1951, when he was promoted to brigadier general and named Assistant Commander of the 1st Marine Division. That May he returned to Camp Pendleton to command the newly reactivated 3rd Marine Division in January 1952. After that, he was assistant at division commander until he took over the Troop Training Unit, Pacific, at Coronado, California, that June. He was promoted to major general in September 1953, and in July 1954, assumed command of the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune. Despite his illness, he retained that command until February 1955, when he was appointed Deputy Camp Commander. He served in that capacity until August, when he entered the U. S. Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune prior to retirement.

In 1966, General Puller requested to return to active duty to serve in Vietnam, but was turned down because of his age. He died 11 October 1971 in Hampton, Virginia, after a long illness. He was 73.

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