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MAJ Mark E Cooper
to remember
Davis, Fred E., Sr., SGM.
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Contact Info
Last Address Fayetteville, NC
Date of Passing Sep 21, 1995
Location of Interment Cumberland Memorial Gardens - Fayetteville, North Carolina
RANGER HALL OF FAME
1994
Sergeant Major Davis distinguished himself throughout his 33-year Army career while serving in combat during three wars in Ranger and Special Operations assignments. Always a volunteer, Sergeant Major Davis served with distinction during World War II as a member of the 3rd Ranger Battalion. While engaged in heavy fighting on the Anzio Beachhead in Italy, he was wounded and subsequently captured by enemy forces. After numerous attempts, Sergeant Major Davis successfully escaped from his German Captors and made his way to Allied Lines. In 1950 during the Korean War, a call for Ranger Volunteers was again issued and Sergeant Major Davis rose to the challenge and joined the 3rd Airborne Ranger Company. After heavy fighting at the battle for "Bloody Nose Ridge", he was recognized for his superior leadership ability and awarded a battlefield commission. Following deactivation of the Airborne Ranger Companies in Korea at the start of Armistice Talks, he served with the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team and then volunteered to return to Korea and participate in extensive Ranger-related Unconventional Warfare activities. These operations served as forerunners for the establishment of Special Warfare Schools and later Special Forces units. After reverting to enlisted rank Sergeant Major Davis served several tours in Vietnam as both A and B Team leaders. Sergeant Major Davis' long and distinguished career reflects great credit on himself, past and present Ranger units, and the military service.
Vietnam War/Defense Campaign (1965)
From Month/Year
March / 1965
To Month/Year
December / 1965
Description This campaign was 8 March to 24 December 1965. During this campaign the U.S. objective was to hold off the enemy while gaining time needed to build base camps and logistical facilities. The U.S. also attempted to consolidate its ground operations more efficiently. For this purpose, it organized the U.S. Army Vietnam (USARV). U.S. support in the I Corps tactical zone, composed of five northernmost provinces, was to be primarily a Marine Corps responsibility; the U.S. Army was to operate mainly in the II and III Corps tactical zones which comprised the Central highlands, adjacent coastal regions, and the area around Saigon; and ARVN troops were to retain primary responsibility for the Delta region of the IV Corps.
On 19 October 1965. three VC regiments totaling 6,000 men attacked a Civil Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) - U.S. Special Forces at Plei Me, near the entrance to the Ia Drang Valley, in what purported to be the start of a thrust to cut the country in half.
With the assistance of massive air strikes, elements of the newly arrived 1st Cavalry Division thwarted the enemy in a battle that lasted nearly a month and included several engagements. The Ia Drang Valley action was the costliest in terms of casualties to date. The successful defense of the region improved security in and around the Central Highlands and raised the morale of the soldiers involved.