Widow accepts flag, medals at somber graveside service

Fellow soldiers talked about Davis' work ethic and honest nature.

Under a blue sky and amidst a sea of headstones, fallen soldier Sgt. Robert G. Davis was saluted with honors and tears as he was laid to rest Friday morning in Russell Heights Cemetery in Jackson.

The burial came 15 days after the 23-year-old Davis died in Afghanistan when a roadside bomb exploded near his armored vehicle, leaving his wife, Mandy, a widow and his new 4-month-old son, Brayden, without his father.

On Friday, the young man who "had his life all planned out," as relatives said last week, was buried with full military honors, including the presentation of the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and the Combat Action Badge.

"He did his job and he did it well," said Fort Leonard Wood's Capt. Charles Fairfield, who read the decrees as family and loved ones sat under a tent. "He served with patriotism and valor."

A crowd of about 70 family and friends, several from Davis' unit at Fort Lewis, Wash., circled the tent in the sweltering August heat. Friday's ceremony was short and peaceful, punctuated only by the sharp popping of 15 shots fired by a five-man rifle team and the wailing sound of a lone bugler playing taps.

Many of those attending wiped away tears as Rev. Luther Rhodes read Psalms 23, which begins ...

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want ...

His wife, Mandy, sat in the front row while a family member rocked little Brayden. The four rows of seats faced Davis' casket, which stood on a pedestal, covered by an American flag.

Maj. Gen. Randal Castro, Fort Leonard Wood's commanding general, also attended the burial, presenting Mandy Davis with the folded flag and Davis' medals. Castro then knelt, whispered something into her ear and embraced her.

Davis' parents, Jimmy Davis of Sandoval, Ill., and Judy Oberts of Cape Girardeau, were also presented with American flags.

Prior to the burial service, Fairfield said that the soldiers who were part of the rifle unit didn't know Davis, who was known to his friends as Bob. Several of them, though, were veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"We're all brothers in arms," he said. "There's not a soldier in the world who minds this duty."

Larry Herron of Cape Girardeau played "Taps." The retired Army veteran who was in Germany during the Vietnam War said he wanted to play well to honor Davis.

"I really want to focus, so I can do it right and honor the soldier and his family," he said. "That's the least I can do."

David Hitt, director of Cape Girardeau County's emergency management office, also attended the service. He didn't know Davis but felt connected because his 19-year-old son, Michael, is also a soldier and arrived in Iraq on Monday.

"It makes you realize it could happen," Hitt said. "It makes me realize what my parents were going through when I was in Vietnam."

Hitt said his heart goes out to the family and he wanted to show support.

"It's like when any young person dies, whether it's in the military or a car crash," he said. "There's so many things they don't get to experience. It's sad. Really sad."

And even if Hitt had an opportunity to talk to the family, he said he isn't sure what he'd say.

"What do you say to a widow? I'm sorry? There's just nothing really that you can do to make them feel better," he said. "It's such a tough time for them."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137