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Griffin Daily News
General Davis
Continued from page 1
tough or stern enough to be a general, there is only the
remark: “I never ask my men to do anything that 1
couldn’t do or wouldn’t do.” It’s a point whose history
leaves no room for argument.
Os all the generals he “grew up with.” the one who
impressed him most was Stonewall Jackson. Ive read
everything I could about General Jackson,” he recalls.
“And I’ve learned a lot from it, too. His tactics are just as
sound now as they proved to be during the Civil War. In
fact I’ve used some of the surprise attack theories in Viet
Nam and they worked out very well.”
In Viet Nam, General Davis served first as Deputy
Commanding General, Provisional Corps and later as Com
manding General of the Third Marine Division in 1968-69,
earning the Distinguished Service Medal.
Knocked to the Ground
Highlight of his combat career was winning the Medal
of Honor in Korea in 1950 when he led his battalion in a
hard fought four-day battle which saved a rifle company
from annihilation and opened a mountain pass for the
escape of two trapped Marine regiments. “Although
knot ked to the ground when a shell fragment struck his
helmet and two bullets pierced his clothing, he arose and
fought his way forward al the head of his men until he
reached the isolated Marines,” read the citation in part.
At that time General Davis was a lieutenant colonel and
commanding officer of a battalion in the first Marine
Division.
Other combat service includes Guadalcanal, New
Guinea, Cape Gloucester, and Pelelieu, where he received
the Navv Cross and Purple Heart. In Korea besides the
Medal of Honor, he won two Silver Stars. Legion of Merit
and Bronze Star Medal, each with a combat “V.”
from the civilian side. General Davis received the
Stephen Decatur Award for Operational Competence in
May. 1969 from the Navy League of the United States.
As a combat veteran, Davis regrets the cuts in service
strengths which will bring the Corps from a peak of
311,(100 down to 206,000 by June 30. 1972 but is
confident that the Marines will continue to be an elite
military organization with well-trimmed hair and no
beards. He concurs strongly in the Corps' now distinctive
physical appearance on practical grounds.
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Long Hair Impractical
“The Marine Corps has to be in instant readiness,
prepared to move out promptly - within an hour, if nec
essary." he contends. “Beards and long hair just aren’t
practical for an organization such as ours.”
General Davis rejects any suggestion that basic training
for recruits be eased.
"Basic training hasn’t been softened up. but it has been
individualized,” he said. “We now put recruits into a kind
of prep school first to determine their capabilities before
thev are assigned to a platoon. If a man is overweight,
we bring him down to the right weight. If he’s under
weight. we bring him up to the correct weight. And we
have better drill instructors.
"We have a strong appeal for the young because we
maintain a keen interest in innovation and imagination, in
being streamlined, in being ready. Examples are our ex
tensive use of the helicopter in Viet Nam and more
recently the new versatile Harrier aircraft.
“I'm a great believer in total communication, in the
ability to direct and command, but also to listen and to
exchange views in the theory that we are a band of
brothers."
Bridging A Gap
Ihe interest in communications includes what has been
termed “the generation gap." General Davis has a long
history of communication with the young 11 years of
Boy Scout work, including the organization of Cub
Scouts at Quantico and serving as Cub Master: advisor for
Explorer Scouts at Headquarters, European Command;
assisting in the establishment of and managing teams in
little league baseball and serving as president of the Babe
Ruth Baseball League in Europe. Last year, the General
and Mrs. Davis met with 25 junior officers and their wives
at Quantico in an encounter group to “reveal the feelings
of junior officers.”
While at Quantico, Davis was the deputy for education,
and director of the education center. This interest in
education continued after his promotion to lieutenant
general and head of the Development and Education
Command there. While serving in that capacity Davis
developed a reputation for letting each man have his say,
no matter what his rank.
During the encounter group session, mentioned earlier,
and after the discussion of each main topic. General Davis
commented on what had been covered, discussed the
bar kground of several problem areas, showed why they
had occurred, sympathized with others, and encouraged
the participants to help confront them in the future.
Rap Session
The Education Center had termed the meeting a
"Company Grade Symposium.” Participants, who had a
unique opportunity to exchange views, called it a "rap
session."
General Davis, whose quarters arc at the Marine
Barracks, Washington, has two sons and a daughter. One
son, Gordon M. Davis, is a first lieutenant in the Marine
Reserves and for eight months in Viet Nam served in a
rille platoon under his father’s overall command. He is
now a law student at the University of Florida. Another
son, Raymond G. Davis, Jr., is with a unit of Litton
Industries and a daughter, Willa Kay (named after her
mother) is a sophomore majoring in physics at Georgia
lech.
An interesting footnote: a review of news coverage by
the New York Times shows that in one year there were
14 news stories about another Davis. R. (Rennie
Davis no relation one of the Chicago Seven charged
with conspiracy and a leader of the May Day demonstra
tions in Washington.)
During the same period there was no mention in the
Times of a quiet warrior for peace. General Davis, veteran
of World War 11, Korea, and Viet Nam. He only smiled
when this was brought to his attention and agreed it was
“symbolic of the times."