DAVIS, RICARDO GONZALES
SFC, U.S. Army
Pecos County, Texas

Picture:
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Biography:

DOG TAGS FOUND 25 YEARS LATER

Ricardo Gonzales Davis was born March 17, 1941, in the west Texas community of Fort Stockton, in Pecos County. Already a veteran of military service, he reenlisted in the United States Army in 1967, and was assigned to Military Assistance Command, Vietnam - Studies and Observation Group, or MACV-SOG.

A joint-service command, MACV-SOG was engaged in highly classified operations throughout south-east Asia, including deep-penetration reconnaissance and interdiction missions.

On March 20, 1969, Specialist First Class Davis was the leader of a six-man team which engaged on just such a mission, west of Kham Duc, in the Saravanne Province, eleven miles inside Laos. Davis' team was attacked, and witnesses saw Davis take hits from rifle fire in the upper chest and face, calling to his sergeant as he went down. Still under fire, the team's second-in-command frantically searched for pulse and respiration, but could detect neither.

Advancing enemy units and a strike by United States aircraft forced the team to withdrawal without Davis. Continued air strikes and the presence of the enemy in force [The enemy continued to hold that portion of Laos for the remainder of the war.] prevented any return to the area where Davis was last seen.

At the very least, Davis was seriously wounded in that battle. However, the United States Army did not place him in the "Killed/Body Not Recovered" category of American Casualties. Rather he was classified as "Missing In Action", one of 600 Americans to be so designated as a result of action in Laos during the Vietnam War. His wife and family still wonder to this day if the Laotians might be able to account for Davis, due to their strong presence in the area where he was last seen.

The story of Richard Davis took strange turn early 1994 when his were one of six sets of dog tags found in a bag, 20 miles from the former American airbase at Da Nang, Vietnam which is more than 130 miles from the spot in Laos where he was last seen. The dog tags were accompanied by a letter written in Vietnamese, which was translated by authorities in Washington D.C. The other five pairs of dog tags have all been accounted for as belonging to service-men who have long since returned to the United States. To date, this find has raised more questions than answers for Davis' loved ones, who wonder if he might still be alive.

POW/MIA INFORMATION:

Name: Ricardo Gonzales Davis
Rank/Branch: E7/US Army Special Forces
Unit: Command & Control North, MACV-SOG, 5th Special Forces Group
Date of Birth: 17 March 1941 (Ft. Stockton TX)
Home City of Record: Carlsbad NM
Date of Loss: 20 March 1969
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 152757N 1071443E (YC409110)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground
Other Personnel In Incident: (none missing)

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: SFC Ricardo G. Davis was born in Ft. Stockton, Texas. After he reenlisted in the Army in 1967 at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, he was sent to Vietnam and assigned to Command & Control North, MACV-SOG (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observation Group). MACV-SOG was a joint service high command unconventional warfare task force engaged in highly classified operations throughout Southeast Asia. The 5th Special Forces channelled personnel into MACV-SOG (although it was not a Special Forces group) through Special Operations Augmentation (SOA), which provided their "cover" while under secret orders to MACV-SOG. The teams performed deep penetration missions of strategic reconnaissance and interdiction which were called, depending on the time frame, "Shining Brass" or "Prairie Fire" missions.

On March 20, 1969, SFC Davis was the team leader six-man reconnaissance team was operating in Saravanne Province, 11 miles inside Laos west of Kham Duc when the patrol was attacked. Sgt. James C. LaMotte was two feet away when Davis was hit by rifle fire in the upper chest and face and said, "Jim, Jim!", and fell. One of the team members approached Davis two minutes after he fell and removed Davis' weapon and ammunition belt and reported that Davis was covered with blood. The assistant patrol leader advanced to Davis' position seven minutes later, and checked Davis' pulse and respiration, but could detect no signs of life.

The patrol was forced to evacuate the area because of advancing hostile soldiers and impending U.S. airstrikes on the area. Ricardo Davis was not seen again. No further searches of the area where he was last seen was possible because of the air strikes and the fact that this territory was held by the enemy from that day forward. He was classified Missing In Action by the U.S. Army. Although Davis was seriously wounded, there apparently was some question as to whether he was dead, because the Army did not place him in Killed/Body Not Recovered status.