Veteran of The Day

Sgt Rodney Maxwell Davis, USMC (Medal of Honor)

Name: Rodney Maxwell Davis
Rank / Branch: Sergeant (SGT), United States Marine Corps
Unit: Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, III MAF
Date of Birth: April 7, 1942
Home of Record: Macon, Georgia
Date of Casualty: September 6, 1967
Country / Province of Loss: Quang Nam Province, Republic of Vietnam (Operation SWIFT, Que Son District)
Wall Location: Panel 26E, Line 8 – Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.

Sergeant Rodney Maxwell Davis grew up in Macon, Georgia, where he graduated from Peter G. Appling High School in 1961. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps later that year, completed recruit training at Parris Island, and went on to serve overseas and in ceremonial duty in London before volunteering for Vietnam.

In August 1967, Davis joined Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines in Vietnam. On September 6, 1967, during Operation SWIFT in Quang Nam Province, his company was hit by a prominent North Vietnamese force. Pinned down in a trench line under mortars, automatic weapons, and small-arms fire, Davis moved along the trench, encouraging his Marines and returning fire. When an enemy grenade landed among several of his men, he threw himself onto the grenade, absorbing the full blast and saving the lives of those around him at the cost of his own.

For this act of extraordinary heroism, Sergeant Davis was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, along with the Purple Heart and other decorations. His medal was presented to his widow, Judy, by Vice President Spiro T. Agnew. The U.S. Navy later honored him by naming the guided-missile frigate USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG-60) in his memory, which carried his name around the world.

Today, his name is etched on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Panel 26E, Line 8, and his story continues to inspire Marines, his hometown of Macon, and all who learn of his sacrifice.

mickyspano.com/ and The Micky Spano Show proudly honor Sergeant Rodney Maxwell Davis, United States Marine Corps, as a Veteran of the Day, remembering his courage, his sacrifice, and the lives he saved by giving his own.