Utahn named Marine of Year

A Utah man has been named 2004 Marine of the Year by Marine Corps Times.

The award was presented to Staff Sgt. Wade Davis on Thursday by Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, at a special ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Davis, 30, a 1992 graduate of Weber High School, is with the 3rd Marine Air Wing, based in Miramar, Calif. His parents, Bob and Kathy Davis, live in Warren, Weber County, west of Ogden.

"I tried to talk him into becoming an Air Force guy, but he had to be in the Marines," said his father, Bob Davis, on Friday. "He says he likes to be where the action is. I said, 'You will be. You'll be sleeping on the ground.' "

The citation from Marine Corps Times said Davis was selected because of his experience in more than 100 combat sorties in the Iraqi, Afghan and East Timor military operations. He was in one of the helicopters that inserted Army Rangers for the rescue of Pfc. Jessica Lynch at the beginning of the Iraq invasion last year, and took part in numerous rescue operations of wounded troops during the war.

"Displaying a high level of concern for his crews and the injured personnel he knew he would be called upon to rescue, he personally arranged for combat lifesaver training over and above requirements for the squadron's air crews," the newspaper's citation says.

"The extra effort ensured a higher level of first aid and medical care for 122 wounded personal that the squadron ultimately evacuated, and undoubtedly saved many lives."

A crew chief on a CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter, a job he has held the past six years, Davis is with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Force getting ready for another deployment, he said.

He downplayed his role in the highly publicized Jessica Lynch rescue, saying he was just one crew member on one of several helicopters that inserted the rescue team.

After high school, Davis earned certification as a nurse's assistant and worked at care centers in Weber and Cache counties before serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Pennsylvania.

"Then I got bored and wanted to do something exciting," he said. "I come from a long military background, and nobody had been a Marine yet and I wanted a challenge, so I joined the Marine Corps."

A major thrill, he said, was meeting Hawaiian Democratic Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, keynote speaker at the award ceremony. Inouye is a decorated veteran of World War II, where he lost an arm.

"One of the things that he told us is that everybody looks at his era and calls it the best era that has been around, because they're the ones that set the standard, and it came through for peace," Davis said.

"And he said, 'No I don't look at it that way. With the difficulties we're facing now, the best era is the era we're in now,' and that's kind of hard for me to swallow because I still look up to his era."

Marine Corps Times is a weekly news source for Marines and their families. It is part of the Military Times Media group, which also includes Army Times, Navy Times and Air Force Times.