Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / July 30, 1987, edition 1 / Page 7
Part of The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Commissioning ceremony • Family and guiairts gather at the naval station in Long Beach, CA^ for the May 9 commissioning ceremony of the Navy's newest frigate, the USS Rodney M. Davis. Special To The Post By Kirk W. Draper & LJ. Sam tie Ison •-During one of the thousands of battles fought in Vietnam, a young, black Marine sergeant earned our nation's highest honor. Rodney M. Davis of Macon, Ga., had decided_to join the Marine Corps right after his high school graduation in 1661. Davis would earp\he nation's highest decora tion Tor bravery, and now the Navy has commissioned a ship in his name. His mother, Ruth Davis of Mac qn, says only that he was very proud of his country. But when Davis requested duty in Vietnam, he made a place for himself in United States history. • On Sept. 6,1667, he had been in Vietnam for only one month. Ar this right guide of 2nd platoon for Company "B," Davis was part of -fhn 1st Marine Division. He was 25 .ye are old and a 6-year Marine T^rps veteran. While on patrol in Quang Nam Province, 8gt. Davie' platoon had been pinned down by a larger Toree of attacking North Vietna mese Army regulars. He ordered ' his men into a trench line and con i&pued to direct their fire to repel ^the attack. .T Amid enemy hand grenades and intense mortar and small arms firs, Davis moved from man to man shouting words of encour agement while firing and throw ing grenades at the onrushing ene my. Instantly, according men in the trench, Davis came to a halt. An enemy grenade hsui just landed among them. Davis threw himself on the grenade, absorbing with his own body the full force of r--— the explosion. In mid-September 1967, back in Macon, Ga., Judy Davis received a letter about her husband from his platoon commander: ".... The ab sence of so great and courageous a man has left an unfilled spot in our ranks and hearts. I think Rodney died for a cause that he believed in." The letter did not mention the details of how Davis died. Two years later' though, a military visi tor contacted his wife. "I was at the dentist's office when someone called me and said someone from the military was at my house," says Judy Davis. "My thoughts were _ 'My God, maybe he didn't dief "Then when I found out I'd been called because of the Medal of Honor — at first I was disappoint ed, but after I got over the initial shock, I began to realize the mag nitude of the honor." mis mother, wife and children, Nichola, 4, and Samantha, 3, were flown to Washington, D.C., to re ceive the Medal of Honor posthu mously awarded Rodney M. Da vis. At the White House ceremony, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew commented, "His actions, his self lessness, his conduct and courage will stand as examples for Young men to come and generations to follow." Now almost 20 Years after Da vis' death, the U.S. Navy has en sured that he will be remembered. One of its newest guided-missile frigates, the US3 Rodney M. Da vis, is the fourth Navy ship to be named after a prominent black American. It is the first to be com missioned in honor of a black American Medal of Honor recipi 1 1 • i ■ __ MEMORIAL - Medal Of Honor memorial for Marine Sgt. Rod ney M. Davis was erected in his hometown of Macon, Ga. It stands in front of Macon City Hall. ent. "This is a great honor, and I'm really glad that it has been be stowed on my son," says Ruth Da vis. "The whole family is very proud and pleased. It's such a great thing to happen to a black man." At the commissioning ceremony May 9 at the Long Beach Naval "...The absence of so great and courageous a man has left an unfilled spot In our ranks and hearts. I think Rodney died for a cause that he believed In." Station in California, guest speaker Marine Lt. Gen. Prank E. Petersen " I ON PATROL - Thm n«wly oommiwioiwd •. UR8 Rodney M. D*vi» under w*y offth*8outh«r* C-Hfornl. Court. Tho USS Rodn«y M. D»vk !• th* .IUr . bl.ok GIVING HONORS — Mrs. Judy Davis, left, and Mrs. Ruth Davis, the widow and mother of the late Marine Sgt. Rodney M. Davis, salute as the nation ^-1-£-1 al anthem is played during commissioning ceremo nies May 9. MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPI ENT - The late Marine Sgt. Rod ney M. Davis, wearing his dress blues, poses for an informal por trait while serving as a corporal. talked about Rodney Davis. "I don't know how such men as Sgt. Davis can perform such acts of heroism, but I do know that I will never learn how to bury such warriors. "As we honor such men today, we do so humbly. They are truly America's heroes," said Petersen. "I knew that going to Vietnam was something he wanted to do. He was a military man, and that was his career," says Judy Davis. "He was willing and ready to go to Vietnam because he ftelt he was doing a service. He didn't hesitate about going," says Ruth Davis. The commanding officer of the USS Rodney M. Davis, Cmdr. Craig Heckert of Philadelphia, talked about his ship's namesake and his crew. "Thte officers and crew feel hon ored to have the ship named after a Vietnam veteran. Sgt. Rodney M. Davis will be an example for my crew to emulate. His dedica tion and selfless act will provide us with inspiration and support dur ing our training. Personally, the fact that the ship is named after a Vietnam veteran is especially meaningful since I made my first deployment in the Navy to Viet nam. "As any commanding officer, I want to see a well-trained ship take its place proudly among its sister ships in the fleet. With such an honorable namesake, it be _hoove8_U8 to uphold that name and bring honor to Sgt. Davis. I would like people to say in the future that the USS Rodney M. Davis was ready in both peace and war and upheld the highest standards of both the Marine Corps and the Navy." The USS Rodney M. Davis is a highly automated, multi-purpose ship designed to counter threats from aircraft, submarines and sur face ships. It is the 17th of 18 ships in its class and is homeported in Long Beach, Calif. "I certainly hope that the crew of this new ship will be brave like my son, and that they are willing to look forward to doing the best that they can at what ever task they are given," says Ruth Davis. I'd like to see the crew have de termination and trust _ mainly de termination like my husband had," says Judy Davis. "When Rodney had something to do, he did it re gardless of the sacrifice. He would be very proud of this ship." (Kirk W. Draper and I.J. Sa muelson are the leading chief and deputy director at the Navy Public Affairs Center in San Diego.) Pictured above from left to right are members of the Pan Hellinic planning committee: Esther Hargrave, Marilyn McClain, Clarissy Knox, R. ---Jl lf, Douglas Spears, Marie L. Grier, O'Dell Robinson, r Adelaide Hunt, Marian Yates, Carrie Evans, Jao quelyn Cox and Sarah Stroud. Council Plans Greek Weekend The Charlotte Graduate Pan Hellenic Council ia planning a “Greek Weekend" August 28-30. Kicking off the function will be a wine and cheese sip that will be held on Friday, August 28 at the Omega Fraternity House. Only Greeks can attend this event. Beginning at noon on Satur day, August 29 the schedule for the “Greek Weekend’ will include a noon luncheon. Speaking at this occasion is Dr. Ada Jackson, president of the National Pan Hellenic Council. Afterwards, a roimd table discussion will take place. Worship service at Oethse man* AME Zion Church will con clude the "Creek Weekend". All Greek lettered organisations that belong to the Graduate Pan Hellenic Council will be in atten dance. The Charlotte Graduate Pan Hellenk Council hopes that this weekend will help develop a cohe sive work unit of all greek let tered organisations which will brainstorm and formulate meth ods to solve problems affecting the black community, as well as pro vide an opportunity for open die cuseion of issues of significant impact in many areas of con -SWttT Formed in 1930 at Howard Uni- * varsity, tha National Pan Hellenic Council waa organized' to provide "Unanimity of thought and action as far as possible in the conduct of Creek letter colle giate fraternities and sororities and to consider problems of mutu al interest to iu member organ!- '■ rations." The Charlotte Graduate Pan Hellenic Council consists of Al pha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Gamma Rho Sorority, Kappa , pha Psi Fraternity, Delta Theta Sorority, Alpha Fraternity, Phi Beta temity, Omega Psi Phi" ty and Zeta Phi Beta 1
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
July 30, 1987, edition 1
7
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75