2003 Van Fleet Award Honoree
RAYMOND G. DAVIS
GENERAL, (RET.)
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
General Raymond G. Davis has compiled a matchless combat record as a Marine Corps officer in the brutal Guadalcanal campaign of World War II, and as the commanding general of the Third Marine Division in Vietnam. During the Korean War, General Davis was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions as a battalion commander during the First Marine Division's historic fight to break out of the Chosin Reservoir area in the frigid mountains of North Korea.
General Davis has been awarded numerous medals for heroism by a grateful United States government. His 33 years of active service as a Marine Corps officer ended with his retirement in 1972, after serving as the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps.
Like General Van Fleet, for whom this award is named, General Davis came out of the Korean War with a special admiration for the Korean people. He has worked tirelessly to develop the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has worked to promote the establishment of a nuclear-free zone in Northeast Asia and has actively participated in meetings between American and North Korean officials in New York City.
Last year, with the cooperation of the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, General Davis visited the Chosin Reservoir area, as a part of the United States government's effort to repatriate the remains of servicemen killed during the war. General Davis is working diligently to return to North Korea in the near future, with other Korean War veterans and their families, in an attempt to forge bonds of friendship between former enemies as well as assist in locating and repatriating those still buried in the formidable mountains of North Korea.
General Davis has brought the same dedication and intensity to civilian life that he demonstrated as an officer in combat. His contributions to Korea and to America, in peace and war, perfectly exemplify the spirit of the Van Fleet Award. It is most appropriate that this award is being presented to General Davis by the President of the Republic of Korea, His Excellency Roh Moo-hyun.