Richard T. Davis

Infobox Military Person
name= Richard T. Davis
born= birth date|1978|3|14
died= death date and age|2003|7|15|1978|3|14
placeofbirth=Germany
placeofdeath=Columbus, GA
placeofburial= [http://www.sunsethills.cc/sunset_hills/ssh_index.htm Sunset Hills Memorial Park] , Apple Valley, CA


caption=
nickname=
allegiance=flagicon|US - United States of America
serviceyears=1998-2003
rank=Specialist
branch=United States Army
commands=
unit=1/15th Inf, 3rd BCT, 3rd Inf Div (Mech)
battles=2003 Invasion of Iraq
awards=Combat Infantry Badge National Defense Service Medal Army Achievement Medal Army Commendation Medal Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Presidential Unit Citation
relations=

Richard T. Davis (March 14, 1978 – July 15, 2003) was a Specialist in the U.S. Army.cite news
url= http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/features/daily-features/article3318847.ece
title= Collateral da

work= The Belfast Telegraph
date= 2008-01-08
accessdate= 2008-07-08] cite web
last = Lapuz
first = Jen
title = Richard Thomas Davis
url=http://memoriesofrichard.tripod.com/
accessdate = 2008-07-08 ] cite web
last = Ancestry.com
title = Richard T. Davis
work = Social Security Death Index
publisher = The Generations Network
date = 2007
url = http://search.ancestrylibrary.com/
format = HTML
accessdate= 2008-07-10] The son of two US Army veterans, Lanny and Remy Davis, he was born on a US Army base in Germany. Davis enlisted in the Army in 1998 and served in Bosnia and later in Iraq, where he and his comrades participated in the April 11, 2003, "Midtown Massacre," a five-hour firefight in downtown Baghdad.cite news
work= Playboy
url= http://www.playboy.com/magazine/features/death-and-dishonor/death-and-dishonor-p1.html
title= Death and Dishonor
first= Mark
last= Boal
date= May 2004
accessdate= 2008-07-08] On July 15, 2003, less than two days after returning from deployment to Iraq, Davis was murdered outside Fort Benning, Ga. by fellow soldiers from Baker Company.cite news
url= http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/17/48hours/printable1625064.shtml
title= Duty, Death, Dishonor
first= Erin
last= Moriarty
date= 2006-12-23
work= 48 Hours
publisher= CBS News
date= 2007-09-15
accessdate= 2008-07-08]

Despite pleas from Davis' father, the Army took more than two months to begin to investigate Davis' disappearance as something other an AWOL/desertion. Davis remains were not found until November, 2003; he had been stabbed in the head, neck, and chest at least thirty-three times. Later his body was dismembered, doused in lighter fluid, and burned. Unnamed sources have suggested that Davis was killed because he had planned to make a complaint about a rape of an Iraqi woman by US troops.

On February 17, 2004, Mario Navarrete, Alberto Martinez, Jacob Burgoyne, and Douglas Woodcoff were indicted by Georgia authorities for the murder.cite court
litigants= Navarrette v. The State
vol= 283
reporter= Ga.
opinion= 156
pinpoint=
court= Supreme Court of Georgia
date= 2008-07-07
url=http://www.gasupreme.us/pdf/s07a1456.pdf
quote=] Burgoyne pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 20 years in prison; Woodcoff pled guilty to concealing the death of another and was sentenced to probation. At trial, Navarrete was convicted of felony murder while in the commission of an aggravated assault, aggravated assault, possession of a knife during the commission of a crime, and concealing the death of another. Martinez was convicted of the same charges and malice murder. Navarrette and Martinez were both sentenced to life plus fifteen years imprisonment.cite news
url= http://www.armytimes.com/legacy/com/1-comnews-1531356.php
title= Fourth soldier charged in infantryman's murder
author=Associated Press
first=
last=
date= 2006-12-23
work= Army Times
publisher=
date= 2006-02-13
accessdate= 2008-07-08]

The story of Davis' murder garnered national attention because he was killed by fellow soldiers and because of the possible role of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a factor in the crime. Davis' murder was the inspiration for the 2007 Academy Award-nominated film, "In the Valley of Elah".

References

External Links

* [http://www.richarddavisforpeace.com/index.html Richard T. Davis Foundation for Peace]
* [http://memoriesofrichard.tripod.com/ Richard T. Davis Memorial Page by Davis' Cousin Jen Lapuz] (mentioned by Boal)