Thomas Richard Davis (The Ridge Runner) was born in Mississippi to Eli and Bonnie Davis and was the older brother of Bonnie. After graduation from Holly Springs High School in 1957, Richard, as he was known to his family and hometown friends, or “T.R.,” as his classmates knew him, entered West Point. After Beast Barracks, T.R. was assigned to Company F2.
THOMAS R. DAVIS 1962
Cullum No. 24323-1962 | March 24, 1973 | Died in Murfreesboro, TN
Interred in Hill Crest Cemetery, Holly Springs, MS
Although his size prevented him from playing football for Army, T.R. was able to take part in the sport he loved as a team manager, serving as head manager his last year. He also was active in the fencing club, and he boxed for his company (and got a broken nose for his effort). Those of us who knew him best appreciated his wonderful personality and his ability to get along with everyone.
Upon graduation in 1962, T.R. was commissioned in the Infantry and reported to Ft. Benning for the Basic Course and Airborne and Ranger schools. T.R’s initial troop assignment was with the 1st Airborne Battle Group, 506th Airborne Infantry Regiment (“Currahee”—Band of Brothers), 101st Airborne Division, at Ft. Campbell, KY. He was assigned to this unit during the reorganization of the Army, and the unit became the 1st Battalion, 506th Airborne Infantry Regiment. He initially served as a platoon leader.
While stationed at Ft. Campbell, T.R. and classmates Steve Arnold and Bob Douglas rented a house in Clarksville, TN. After several months, another classmate, Chris Robbins, joined them. T.R. served as the meticulous manager of the household, ensuring that everything was in good shape and that bills were paid. Then he would invoice Steve and Bob for their shares. Steve and T.R. went through Ranger training together (they were Ranger buddies) in the infamous frostbitten class 6 during the winter of 1962. Steve reflects that they helped each other survive the mental and physical demands of the course and kept each other moving during the night the temperature dropped well below zero in the Georgia mountains.
Steve and T.R. both had Triumph TR3s. When T.R. was not at work, you would find him behind the wheel of his beloved TR3, which he often drove in the local Triumph rallies in Clarksville. When he wasn’t out driving, he was often boating on the Cumberland River with classmates Ray Pendleton and Dave Treadwell.
While he was stationed at Ft. Campbell, T.R. met and fell in love with Delores “Dee” Barrett. In 1965, T.R. was reassigned to Ft. Ord, CA, with the Army Training Center, 2d Advanced Individual Training Brigade. In December 1965, T.R. and Dee married in Dee’s hometown of Woodbury, TN.
During his Ft. Ord assignment, he was alerted for a tour in Viet Nam. Before he deployed, he began to experience some episodes of dizziness, but it did not prevent his movement to Viet Nam in the summer of 1966. While serving there, T.R. continued to experience dizziness, loss of memory, and seizures. After a few months, he was evacuated to Japan for medical treatment.
When he returned to the States, he was assigned to the staff and faculty of the Army Infantry Center at Ft. Benning. Although T.R’s condition worsened, he was assigned to Ft. Richardson, AK, in 1969. It was in 1970, while in Alaska that, as a result of his deteriorating health, T.R. had to resign from the Army as a captain with a medical disability.
After his discharge from the Army, T.R. convinced Dee that it would be a wonderful opportunity to travel from Alaska to the “lower 48” by driving down the AlCan Highway and camping all the way home to Mississippi and Tennessee. What followed was a special time for the couple. Here was T.R, the professional camper, along with Dee, whose idea of “roughing it” was to spend a week at the Holiday Inn, off on this great adventure, hauling a Scamp camping trailer behind their car. It was a trip that took them to some beautiful locations but under some of the most rugged and rustic conditions possible. It turned out to be a time that Dee would never forget.
Eventually, their trip led them home to Mississippi, where T.R. made arrangements for diagnostic tests with one of the top neurosurgeons in Memphis. Sadly, it was eventually determined that he had a very invasive, fast growing, malignant brain tumor that would result in his death.
Shortly after the initial exploratory surgery, additional surgery was performed to stop a life-threatening hemorrhage. The second surgery resulted in brain damage that affected his ability to perform many common daily activities. Although he spent the remainder of his life in a hospital setting, he defied the surgeons’ best predictions of what he would be able to do, including walking. Through sheer determination and the loving support of his and Dee’s families, he was able to make the best of the time he had left. This was a very difficult time for T.R, Dee, his sister Bonnie, his parents, and Dee’s family, to whom he was very close.
During the two-and-a-half years left to him after surgery, a tight knit group of his and Dee’s immediate and extended family remained close to him, providing encouragement and support. T.R.’s memorial service was held in his hometown of Holly Springs, MS, where he is buried in the family plot. Family, friends, and classmates agree that it is easy to say, “Well done; be thou at peace.”
Family and friends
For What They Gave on Saturday Afternoon 