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Tim
Davis Combat Controller |
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Tim
Davis Killed by I.E.D. |
 Tim Davis, his wife Meagan, and their son Tim Jr. pose for a family photo before he was deployed. |
Fallen
Airman Receives Bronze Star;
A Memorial Service is being planned for SSgt Davis here at Hurlburt Field, 23 March 2009, in the afternoon.
Wayne Norrad, President
Combat Control Association
| More on
Sergeant Davis: Air
Force Special Operations Command has released more information about
SSgt. Timothy Davis, the airman who died from wounds received when
his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device last week. Davis, who
was a combat controller with the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron at
Hurlburt Field, Fla., had enlisted in the Air Force in 1999, training
first as a survival, evasion, resistance, and escape (SERE) instructor.
He entered training for the CCT field in June 2003 and two years later
was assigned to the CCT Silver Team. He also qualified as a joint
terminal attack controller. He was on his second deployment to
Afghanistan as a JTAC at the time of his death. Maj. Travis Woodworth,
23rd STS acting commander said, "Tim was one of the first squadron
members to volunteer for this recent deployment, despite just getting
back from one less than a year ago." Woodworth noted, too, that Davis
was "the epitome of the quiet professional that we in the Special
Operations community strive to be." (AFSOC report by Capt. Laura
Ropelis) From the commander, 720th Special Tactics Group 02/20/2009 It is with great sadness that I inform you SSgt Timothy P. Davis, 23 STS was killed in Action today supporting operations in OEF when the vehicle he was riding in was struck by an IED. Memorial and funeral yet TBD. We will let you know further details when they become available. To allow the unit to work through this - please direct any calls or questions to the 720 OSS Vault DSN: 579-3708. BRADLEY P. THOMPSON, Col, USAF Commander, 720 STG |
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But on Friday, with three uniformed Air Force personnel on her doorstep, she got the news no mother ever wants to hear.
Davis was killed in the Oruzgan province of Afghanistan on Friday. According to an official letter from Major Gen. K.C. McClain, Commander of the Air Force Personnel Center, she received and shared with The Daily World, the death was from “the result of injuries received from an improvised explosive device.”
The letter notes that further details were unavailable but asked Mrs. Sheldon to “please accept the Air Force’s deepest condolences.”
“They told me he died quickly,” Mrs. Sheldon said. “He knew the Lord and he brought me much honor.”
Davis, who just turned 28, would have been married for five years next month. He has a 1-year-old son, Timmy Junior, who also went by T.J.
“My breath has just been taken away,” his wife Meagan said by phone from Spokane. “I am still in shock.”
He met Meagan while training at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane.
His dad, Mike, lives in Ocean Shores. His mom lives in South Aberdeen. His siblings include Ben, 29, of Texas; and younger sister Noel, 26, of Burien. Much of his extended family lives in the Montesano area.
Davis grew up in Montesano, graduating from Monte High School in 1999. He was an accomplished wrestler who once took seventh in a state tournament and played on the football team, his mother said.
His unit was based out of Hurlburt Field, Fla., where he was part of the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron and worked as a Combat Controller, his wife said.
Memorial Services will be conducted for Davis in Florida, but, per his wishes, he will be flown to Montesano for another service. He’ll be buried in the Harbor area, his aunt Mary Sheldon said.
His father, Mike Davis, noted that his son had recently attended the funeral of another Combat Controller and recognized that he may very well die some day himself.
“He told me, ‘I don’t want you to be stuck in a grieving mood. I want you to get through it and move on. Think about all of those fishing moments and Dad Sundays.’ ”
His uncle Jim Sheldon noted that Davis had been given everything from underwater training to land survival and parachute training.
“He worked with a little cadre of Green Berets calling in coordinates and taking the lay of the land to call in fire power and air strikes,” Jim said.
On more than one occasion he put himself in harm’s way, his family members said.
His whole unit had won a Bronze Star for their actions during one combat outing. When he was wounded with shrapnel another time, Davis was awarded a Purple Heart. Because he didn’t lose a limb, his family said Davis always said he didn’t deserve the award.
“He just called me the week before and said his friend got shot in the face, a Green Beret, and he was worried,” Jim said, noting he really got to know Davis when he came to live with him and his wife Mary for two years during high school.
“He couldn’t really tell me what was going on. But I knew. I said, ‘It’s escalating isn’t it?’ But he didn’t say anything. And I said, ‘You don’t have to tell me everything, I know.’ ”
Mrs. Sheldon said she had been worried after hearing President Obama’s announcement on Tuesday that another 17,000 U.S. soldiers and Marines would be sent to Afghanistan to join the 38,000 troops already there.
In Obama’s announcement, the president stated, “This increase is necessary to stabilize a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, which has not received the strategic attention, direction and resources it urgently requires.”
“As soon as I heard that I was worried,” Mrs. Sheldon said. “I was worried we weren’t doing well.”
His uncle John Sheldon said he had heard from Tim as soon as last week.
“I was concerned about him ever since he got wounded the first time,” John said. “Tim was asking me for some advice to invest his money. I told him, ‘Don’t do the young man thing and blow all of your money. Save for your future.’ And he was doing that.”
John is a Vietnam veteran, having served in the Air Force, too. Two of John’s uncles were in the Air Force and his dad Buck was in the Army. Buck was captured in North Africa during World War II, but survived and earned his own Purple Heart for enduring the pain and suffering that went with two years of imprisonment.
“Tim always wanted to serve,” John said.
“Tim was the glue (of our family),” his brother Ben added by phone. “He was always taking charge … protecting me. He was very strong willed, very strong minded. He was just a great person.”
His Aunt Mary recounted a story about the young Davis trying to be tough and fearless. He had decided to take his bike behind Monte High, where there is a large hill, and ride down with no hands on the handlebars and closed eyes. He crashed and came back with his chin split open and bleeding.
When they took him to the hospital, and they injected the local anesthetic into his chin, she said, “he didn’t make a sound. There was never any doubt he was tough.”
Davis also had a lot of nicknames. During basic training, his unit called him “The Rock,” because he could always be counted on. His mom called him “Tim-Bo” — akin to “Rambo” from the war movies.
“As a little boy, I also called him ‘my little mountain goat’ because he always climbed on everything,” his mom said.
His uncle Jim called him “Slider” because when Davis was younger, he let a jar of peanuts slide from his hand and land on the floor of a buddy’s truck who was a stickler for having a spotless rig.
His uncle John noted that one of Tim’s favorite movie heroes was John Wayne.
“And, like John Wayne, he didn’t talk a lot but when he did, he said something that meant a lot,” John said. “We’ll miss him.”
| “He would be the first one in and the last one out,” his dad added. “He hated what was going on around the world and wanted to make a difference.” |
| R.I.P. My Brother! click on video to the left to view Memorial @ Hurlburt Field |
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FROM THE MISSION, sent by Joe Edwards; Two 3rd Special Forces Group soldiers received the Silver Star medal at Fort Bragg for heroism in Afghanistan.
Master Sgt. Anthony Siriwardene, 38, who came to the United States from Sri Lanka 30 years ago, was given the Army's third-highest award for valor for his actions in seven engagements over 54 hours in August 2005.
Staff Sgt. Linsey Clarke, 26, a combat medic who went from civilian life directly into Special Forces, was decorated for what he did in an engagement Feb. 20 that probably lasted less than an hour.
"It means a lot," Siriwardene said after the ceremony. "For the most part, everyone that needs to know already does, just the guys that were on the ground with me there."
The master sergeant was decorated for his actions on his third deployment. He has been to Afghanistan five times and to Iraq twice. Clarke was on his first deployment. Both are in the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Special Forces Group.
Siriwardene said four soldiers previously received Silver Stars in the same incident. Staff Sgt. Christopher Falkel, 22, died in the three-day battle at Mari Ghar. The battle area is in a remote region known as a safe haven for Taliban fighters, surrounded by rugged terrain.
The Special Forces A-team joined Afghan National Army soldiers on a combat reconnaissance patrol that was expected to last two days with the possibility of contact with the enemy, said Chief Warrant Officer Shawn Piatz.
During the patrol, the soldiers came under fire from small arms, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, and Siriwardene exposed himself to enemy fire on several occasions, Piatz said.
His "quick thinking and leadership" helped rally the soldiers around him, Piatz said.
Clarke was decorated for exposing himself to enemy fire during a medical evacuation in February in a remote area marked by narrow mountain passes and deep valleys. Rugged terrain and a lack of local government make the area a safe haven for enemy fighters. He was a junior medic at the time.
He was on a combat reconnaissance patrol in conjunction with the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police and Czech special forces soldiers when they came under attack. A roadside bomb destroyed one of the vehicles.
Clarke and his truck commander exited their vehicle, shot back at the enemy and -- exposing themselves to enemy fire -- pulled a soldier from the burning vehicle.
He provided emergency medical treatment, then volunteered to remain at the vehicle and protect the remains of the people killed while enemy fighters were attempting to flank their position, said Capt. Blayne Smith.
His actions "in the face of overwhelming tragedy and a near-impossible tactical situation" saved another soldier's life, Smith said.
"It's something that any one of those guys would have done for me," Clarke said after Wednesday's ceremony. "There wasn't a second thought to it. It was by no means an individual effort. There were countless other guys. ... Their actions are just as great."
Clarke and his teammates "ensured all sensitive material" was collected, Smith said.
Army Staff Sgt. Jeremy E. Bessa, 26; Army Master Sgt. David L. Hurt, 36; and Air Force Staff Sgt. Timothy P. Davis, 28, died in the incident. Davis was assigned to the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
Clarke said the other members of his A-team were doing as much as he was.
"They all deserve the same award," Clarke said. "I wish they were standing up here with me."
Clarke continued to fight in Afghanistan for four months after the incident. Now a senior medic on an A-team, he will return to Afghanistan in January, Smith said.
Lt. Gen. John Mulholland presented the awards during a ceremony in the auditorium of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. He is commander of U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg.
He also presented eight Bronze Stars for valor, three Purple Hearts and 15 Army Commendation Medals for valor.
Col. Gus Benton II, the 3rd Group commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. Jeff Wright were onstage to congratulate the recipients.
A year ago this week, 19 soldiers from 3rd Special Forces Group received Silver Stars for their actions in seven separate engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan. The recipients ranged in rank from captain to specialist, from 20-year-olds to 40-year-olds.
