Davis, John Fuller, Sr., BG

John Fuller Davis (Jack) was born 2 May 1892 in Augusta, Georgia, the son of John Fuller and Emily St. Pierre Morgan Davis. He was descended from a long line of soldiers and patriots, the Barnwell, Fuller, Morgan and Trenholm families of South Carolina. His father died when Jack was a young boy so he never used the "Jr.â?? after his name. In his early years he was raised by an uncle, an Episcopal minister in Florida, while his mother attempted to develop a career in nursing so that she would be able to support herself and her three children.
 
In 1905 his mother married James C. Nagle, the first Dean of Engineering at Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College, where he taught from 1890 to 1922. Jack developed a true father-son relationship with his stepfather, a remarkable man who undoubtedly was instrumental in Jack's attending Texas A&M for three years before entering West Point in 1911.
 
At West Point his four years were marked by a keen sense of humor, an attractiveness the femmes couldnâ??t resist, and frequent bouts with thE Academic and Tactical Departments. The results of the latter were many hours on the area and consequently shoes worn thin and a clean sleeve. Also as a cadet he developed a true love for horses and played on the polo team; thus it was only natural that upon graduation he chose the Cavalry,
 
His first assignment took him to Mission, Texas, on the Mexican border with the 3d Cavalry, During this assignment Jack married Aileen, the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Frank S. White of Austin, Texas. Aileen was a product of the University of Texas, a real Texas beauty, and one of Jack's drags while he was o cadet. When they returned to Mission, one of Jack's tasks, in addition to defending against incursions by Pancbo Villa, was to instruct his new bride in the use of the 45 caliber pistol, just in case.
 
When the United States entered World War I, the 3d Cavalry was assembled from its various border posts and transferred to France in October 1917. After Armistice Day-Jack was fortunate to be sent on temporary duty to attend Cambridge University in England. He cherished this association with the British, and it was reflected in his gentlemanly bearing throughout the rest of his life.
 
Upon returning to the United States in 1919, Jack was assigned to the 13th Cavalry at Fort Clark and Fort Ringgold, Texas, In L921 he was assigned to the Reserve Officers Training Corps at his old Alma Mater, Texas A&M, where he was senior instructor of the Cavalry unit. In 1925 he was selected to attend the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Following graduation he had a brief tour at The Cavalry School at Fort Riley but was recalled to Fort Leavenworth to serve for three years as an instructor at the Command and General Staff College. It was while at Fort Riley that Jack and Aileen suffered the loss of their beautiful daughter Frances, when she was only four years old.
 
In 1930 he was selected to attend the Army War College in Washington, D.C., after which lie served on the War Department General Staff for three years. He assumed command of the 2d Squadron, 3d Cavalry at Fort Myer, Virginia, in 1934, His classmates referred to this unit as "one of those very hep-hep squadrons of Cavalry in which the black horses wear white spats and the white horses wear black ones,â??
 
In 1935 Jack was sent to Guatemala as Chief of the Military Mission to that country and Superintendent of the Military Academy, the Escuela Polytechnics. He also held the assimilated grade of brigadier general in the Guatemalan Army, a fact that impressed his classmates since they were still in the lowly grade of lieutenant colonel. It is said that one of the first things Jack did when he was made Supc was to build an area as big as a polo field so the lads could walk off their slugs on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons.
 
In 1937 Jack returned to the United States where he was assigned to the 1st Cavalry, Mechanized, at Fort Knox, Kentucky, as Operations and Training Officer and later to a corresponding position with the 7th Cavalry Brigade, Mechanized. In these assignments he was instrumental in converting the Army concept of battlefield mobility from the horse to the tank and to other armored and mechanized farces.
 
Following a period from 1939 to 1941 when he was Assistant Chief of Staff, G3, II Corps Area, at Governorâ??s Island, New York, he returned to Fort Knox to command the 1st Armored Regiment of the 1st Armored Division. One of his classmates wrote; "Jack bad one virtue which, above all else, above every other trait of character, was honestyâ??sheer native honesty. This was such a fetish with him that it was transmitted habitually to the men of his command who took such a fierce pride in their commander and their command that it was an inceptive acceptance by them all.â??
 
Shortly after Pearl Harbor, Jackâ??s unit was ordered to the Port of Embarkation. Unfortunately for bis command (fortunate for the Germans), he developed an illness that was to prevent his sailing. Instead, he was assigned to the 6th Service Command in Chicago as Chief of Staff, where he served until August 1944. From then until his retirement as a brigadier general in May 1952, Jack served in various capacities on
the War Department staff in the Pentagon, on General Mac Arthurâ??s staff in Tokyo, at Fort Knox, and in the District of Columbia Military District.
 
For several years after retirement, jack worked for the Magnesium Company of America in Washington. In April 1955 he retired for good so that he and Aileen could enjoy their lovely home at 2355 King Place, N,W., in Washington.
 
It is seldom that one finds a man that got more out of life than Jack did. He worked hard .and he played hard. He loved people, and everyone whom he came in contact with immediately became his friend. He particularly enjoyed sports and participated whenever possible. The horse was one of his principal loves* whether as part of his military career or part of his off-duty life.
 
During his entire life Jack was a man of enormous wit and humor; there was never an occasion when he did not have an appropriate story that he would tell in his own inimical way. He had a full life, devoted to his family, his country, and to God. A good man, a good soldier, and always a true gentleman,
 
His decorations included the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster. In 1946 he received an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Laws) from Texas A&M.
 
Among the papers Jack left behind we found the following which sounds like something he might have written himself:
 
â??I cannot make it seem a day to dread
 
When from this dear earth I shall journey out
 
To that still dearer country of .the dead,
 
And join the lost ones so long dreamed about.
 
I loved this world, yet shall I love to go
 
And meet the friends who wait for me,
 
I knowâ??
 
â??Extracted from BEYOND by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
 
Jack was buried with Aileen in Arlington National Cemetery. lie is survived by his sons, both West Point graduates, Colonel John F. Davis Jr. (Retired) and Colonel William D. Davis (Retired) and four grandchildren.

http://apps.westpointaog.org/Memorials/Article/5411/