Sp/4 James "Tom" Davis
June 1, 1936 Davis.jpg - 8.6 K December 22, 1961
Killed in Action
--- General / Personal ---

Last name: DAVIS
First name: JAMES THOMAS
Home of Record (official): LIVINGSTON
State (official): TN
Date of Birth: Monday, June 1, 1936
Sex: Male
Race: Caucasian
Marital Status: Married

--- Military ---

Branch: Army
Rank: SP4
Serial Number: 14696877
Component: Regular
Pay grade: E4 MOS (Military Occupational Specialty code): 05D20

--- Action ---

Start of Tour: Unknown/Not reported
Date of Casualty: Friday, December 22, 1961
Age at time of loss: 25
Casualty type: (A1) Hostile, died
Reason: Gun, small arms fire (Ground casualty)
Country: South VietNam
Province: Unknown/Not Reported
The Wall: Panel 01E - Row 004

LASTNAME: DAVIS FIRSTNAME: JAMES THOMAS IDNO: 14696877 SVC: A COMP: R RANK: SP4 GRADE: E4 MOS: ----- AGE: 25 HOME: LIVINGSTON ST: TN CASDATE: 19611222 CAS1: A1 CAS2: D CAS3: 7 BODY: --- CTRY: VS PROV: 99 LSVC: 02 BIRDATE: 19360601 RACE: C REL: 99 MAR: M SEX: M CIT: 1 TOURD: ------ PANL: 01E LINE: 004 REFNO: 1 PDATE: 6112
Details:
Specialist Four James T. Davis served as a 3d Radio Research Unit advisor to elements of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). In this capacity, Specialist Davis participated in numerous operations in direct support of ARVN tactical forces, thus exposing himself to great danger from Viet Cong (VC) rebels. On 22 December 1961, his team was required to go to a new position. On the way, the team was ambushed by the VC. The truck in which they were riding hit a road mine, and the men were thrown from the truck. Davis was still able to function and managed to fire several rounds from his M-1 before being killed. From an investigation of the ambush area and an interview with a survivor, it was obvious that Specialist Davis died defending his comrades-in-arms. He was the first Army Security Agency soldier to be killed in the Vietnam War. President Johnson later termed Davis "the first American to fall in defense of our freedom in Vietnam."
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