Michael-F-Davis

MICHAEL F DAVIS

Michael Davis arrived in Vietnam 1968 and was assigned to 1st Platoon. He was on the May 1968 Roster. He is from Mason City IA.

In the photo above, SGT Brendon Berrigan - PFC Michael F. Davis - PFC Mike Christensen - SP4 Joe A Ysais - 1st platoon, 1st squad - Vietnam - 1968.

Story by: Mike Davis

I just arrived as a replacement. Everyone was talking about all the casualties that A Company was having. They loaded me on a Huey and flew me out to the Company.

When I arrived, A Company was about ready to sweep a village. I was put on-line next to Turnley. I asked him if he thought it was a hot village. He said, “we would soon find out”. I told him I just arrived and they had only given me three magazines of ammo. He said, "not to worry". "If you need more, there would be plenty of dead bodies to get ammo off of."

Medals and Awards

Air Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
Vietnam Campaign Medal
Combat Infantryman Badge

Unit Citations

PHOTOS

Conrad Olson - PFC Michael F. Davis - PFC James W. Culberson

PFC Michael F Davis - SP4 Joe A Ysais
China Beach

PFC Michael F Davis, SGT Brendon J Berrigan & unknown

Check out Original 1st Platoon photos here.

"Hero warriors fight for each other as much as for higher ideals"

by DICK JOHNSON, Globe Gazette Columnist

My hero would be 60 if he was still alive. Milton Olive III threw himself on an enemy grenade to save four fellow U.S. Army soldiers, 42 years ago today at Phu Cuong, Vietnam. He was 18.

Eighteen!

We learned about him soon after, in grade school. Think I saw a book somewhere. The Vietnam debacle left many of us deeply cynical. Why in the world did 58,000 Americans die? Doesn't make sense to me, either.

Of course, heroes are everywhere. Through all these years, I’ve thought of Milton Olive and his selfless action. The baby-faced 18-year-old from Chicago didn’t hesitate to sacrifice himself. Incredible.

“Just training, is why he did that,” said Mike Davis of Mason City, who served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam in 1968 and ’69. “And to save his buddies. That’s what those guys were fighting for over there. “They weren’t fighting for apple pie or Uncle Sam. They were fighting for each other. I would say the main reason that guy did that was for his friends.”

“The closeness you get with these people ... they’re more than friends. They’re a part of your life at that time,” said Mick’s friend, Bill King, of Mason City, an Army veteran who fought in Vietnam in 1969 and ’70. “You’re flesh and blood. It’s a bond.”

In 1994 the North Iowa Area Community College women’s basketball team competed in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II tournament in Hagerstown, Md. Media personnel lucky enough to make the trip saw the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D. C., not far from Hagerstown.

There’s a huge book at the site, for use in finding particular names on the black granite wall. The wall starts low, grows tall, and tapers again, reflecting the war’s intensity.There are 58,256 names, listed in the order the soldiers died.

The book said he’s at panel 02E, line 131. My heart raced. Sure enough. There he was. Milton Lee Olive. Very cool. But certainly not alone. “Just put down they were all heroes, as far as the rest of us were concerned,” Mick Davis said. “And the nurses, especially. And the helicopter pilots. They were the ones we really respected.”

“They did a good thing, putting that up there,” said Bill King, who has visited the memorial. He pondered. Lot of water over the dam. “It’s been a long time ago,” Bill said quietly.

See the Web site www.mishalov.com/Olive.html for more information on Milton Olive.

See http://thewall-usa.com for more information on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.