Zachariah S. Davis, Marines, Sergeant -- Rest In Peace

Zachariah S. Davis, 25

Marines, Sergeant
Based: Twentynine Palms, Calif.
Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: January 6, 2005
Anbar province, Iraq
Married, 2 children
Gender: Male
Hometown: Twentynine Palms
High School: Twentynine Palms High (Twentynine Palms)

It was almost a given that Zach Davis would become one of the few, the proud.

With a career Marine as a father, who was stationed for many years at the base in Twentynine Palms, Calif., Davis, 25, joined the Marine Corps in 1998 and rose to the rank of sergeant.

Assigned to the base's 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Davis was among the first troops in Baghdad in 2003 before the start of the war in Iraq.

Zachariah Scott Davis, a vehicle commander, was killed Jan. 6 in enemy action in Al Anbar province, which includes the city of Fallouja. The Defense Department declined to provide details of the incident, but family members were told that Davis was killed by a roadside bomb.

Perhaps it was because he had six younger siblings, but Davis cared deeply for children. When he first saw his nephew Christian, Davis insisted on holding the infant until he fell asleep, said his brother Marine Cpl. Christopher Davis, 23, of Honolulu, a military police officer stationed in Hawaii.


"He wasn't just a Marine, he was also a dad. He was one of the best. You couldn't ask for better," said Zach Davis' widow, Angela.

She said he "did cartwheels inside our apartment" when he learned of her first pregnancy, adding that he did not mind changing diapers and substituted military cadence for lullabies.

In addition to his wife, father and brother Christopher, Davis is survived by sons Landen and Gabriel; his mother, Kathy Owens of Spiro, Okla; brothers Terry Davis Jr. of Wister, Okla., and Jonathan and Jesse Davis, both of Spiro, Okla.; and sisters Sarah Davis of Twentynine Palms and Audra D. Thornburg of Spiro, Okla.

Read the entire LA Times article about Marine Sergeant Zachariah S. Davis here and find more about Sergeant Davis here and here.

Update, in case you missed it the first time around, as did I:

I remember being new to the unit, and you taking all of us new guys in like we were younger brothers...brought us to your house and introduced us to your family. You seemed so much older than me then, but as I looked at your picture on this site just now, I realized that when you died you were only 25. It was a shock because I'm 25 and I don't feel that old. You were incredibly strong, committed to the cause and to your Marines. I think about you all the time, and carry your dog tag on my key ring. I hope you know how much you mean to us all. We'll keep up the fight down here, Sergeant, so you just kick back and enjoy the show.
Semper Fi

— Wolfpack
August 29, 2009 at 12:13 a.m.