Joseph E. Davis

Date of Birth: 11/18/1949
Neighborhood: West Philadelphia
High School: West Philadelphia Catholic High School
Street: Chester Ave.
Branch of Service: Marine Corps
Rank: PFC
Date of Casualty: 11/03/1968
Province of Casualty: Quang Nam
Philadelphia Memorial Panel: Panel 7
Panel Row: 17

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"He considered what he had to do and he did it," Davis' father recalled of the young man's decision to join the Marine Corps and fight in Vietnam. Davis, the oldest son in a large family, enlisted in the Marines in September 1967 after graduating from West Philadelphia Catholic High School. He wrote home frequently about the plight of Vietnamese children, and believed that by serving in Vietnam he could make a difference in the children's future. The lance corporal had been on more than 10 combat missions as a rifleman and grenadier with Company E of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, and 1st Marine Division. He had been wounded twice before dying in Quang Nam Province on Nov. 3, 1968, as the result of wounds inflicted during an air strike by U.S. planes. Davis was 18 years old. He was survived by his parents, three brothers and nine sisters.

Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial