Historical Society of Forest Park
Historical Society of Forest Park
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  • Get Involved
    • Facebook Group
    • Volunteer
    • Give us feedback
  • Membership
  • Donate
  • Calendar
  • Virtual Tours
  • News
  • Board
  • Look Back Blog
  • Our Neighbors, Oral Histories
    • Our Neighbors, Our Heroes >
      • Clifford Leber
      • Debra Funderwhite
      • Don Lines
      • Joseph Byrnes
      • Patricia Salazar Davis
      • Paul Roach
      • Raphael Davis
      • Mike Close
      • Mike Mohr
  • Living History
    • Living History: Covid-19
  • Online Exhibits
    • Altenheim
    • Ameritorp
    • Black History
    • Bloomer Girls
    • Cemeteries
    • Cemetery Symbolism
    • Forest Park Amusement Park
    • Haymarket
  • Additional Resources
    • Housing Research >
      • A Landlord's Guide to Researching Property History
      • Chicago House Research Guide
      • House Advisor
    • 16" Softball Hall of Fame
    • Bataan Project
    • Forest Home Cemetery
  • Land Acknowledgment
  • Contact
  • Store

Raphael Davis
​Army 1998-current

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Raphael is a current resident of Forest Park. He was born March 6, 1980 and is originally from Chicago. Raphael has had a 19-year career in the U.S. Army and currently serves in the National Guard as a reservist. Although Raphael was offered two scholarships upon graduating from high school, he was not sure what he wanted to do in with his life, so he decided to volunteer for military service. He hoped the military would help clarify his passions and interests and allow him to see the world. Raphael chose to serve in the U.S. Army to follow his older brother and uncle. He was initially recruited by the U.S. Air Force for their basketball team, but he felt the Air Force would not offer him the level of discipline he sought and felt that Marines would offer him too much; therefore, the Army was his choice. In 1998, Fort Stewart, GA, Raphael joined the military as a cook and did not want anything to do with war. Despite his early sentiments, Raphael served as a specialist in two active combats, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq and Kuwait. The total time of his deployments was 18 months. When his tour in Operation Iraqi Freedom ended, Raphael returned home on September 10, 2001 only to wake up the next morning to the Twin Tower attack. After being home for six months, Raphael missed the military and rejoined as a legal clerk in 2002, but he was quickly sent to Iraq under Operation Enduring Freedom where he worked three separate jobs as a cook, as a logistics operator where he managed emergency medivac operations, and on convoys with armed defensive support. Raphael cherishes the lifelong friendships made in the military and values his military service as the best decision of his life. He is married to Patricia Salazar, a Marine veteran.

SERVED AS A SPECIALIST IN TWO ACTIVE COMBATS

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM
OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM IN IRAQ AND KUWAIT 
​

19-YEAR CAREER IN THE U.S. ARMY.
CURRENTLY SERVES IN THE NATIONAL GUARD AS A RESERVIST


​PATH INTO MILITARY SERVICE

Two art scholarships upon graduating from high school
Volunteered for military service
Initially recruited by the U.S. Air Force
Chose to serve in the U.S. Army

Fort Stewart, GA in 1998
Joined as a cook
First days in service
​

Staying Connected


​EARLY IMPRESSIONS OF MILITARY TRAINING

“Others were really freaking out and they were traumatized by the whole experience, but I found it to be very comical......Different people take things a little bit differently. I mean, from growing up in Chicago, what would normally rock someone else, didn’t even sway my boat.”
​

The Day to Day


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CONGRATULATIONS,
YOU’RE GOING TO WAR!

​ Scored high on the ASVAB test
Cook at Fort Stewart from 1998-2001
The Twin Towers fell
Rejoined as a legal clerk in 2002
“Hey, next time they have one of those wars, send me for three months of quick money.”
Deployed to Iraq


​2 COMBAT DEPLOYMENTS

Served as a specialist in two active combats
      • Operation Iraqi Freedom
      • Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq and Kuwait
Multiple roles
      • Cook
      • Logistics operator
      • Convoys


​CITATIONS AND MEDALS

​ Army Achievement Medals
Global War on Terrorism Medal
Received 9 medals in total
Does not display any military memorabilia in his home
“I’m just truly not that guy. That’s not really my thing. For some people, it is a part of their identity..........I’m not that guy though. “
​

IMPRESSIONS IN COMBAT

“When you first get to Iraq, everything is new…Everything is different than your norm…everybody in this country wants to kill you. So, you get there and initially everything scares you…A car drives too close to you; you’re ready to kill them. 

​After about…two weeks it starts to lessen, by two months… you just flat out don’t give a f@#$...a person can only be scared for so long before that reflex kind of just doesn’t work.

…if someone was to jump behind a wall and say, “Boo!” they might get you the first time. The second time, you might jump a little bit, but the tenth or eleventh time, it’s just like –this is getting old. Like, you’re really not scaring me now. If we’re going to do it, let’s get on with it. ”That’s kind of how it is for most people in a combat zone for that amount of time.”
​

Casualties of War

When Did the War End?


​RETURN TO CIVILIAN LIFE

“For us guys who were returning, we kind of came back with our own glow. We just had a glow and an aura around us like, I just made it through a war, so you’re truly not telling me anything right now. We had wind in our sails so we were pretty good. We were pretty good.”
​


​BONDS AMONG HIS BAND OF BROTHERS

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“ We have a memorial…and we meet up at the gravesite every year...It’s more of a celebration of life… It’s just more so keeping that camaraderie together through the years…We can be apart for ten years and it just takes five seconds to reconnect. It’s right back on again.”
​
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Staying Connected


​REFLECTIONS ON HIS DECISION TO SERVE

​ “It was the best of times and the worst of times at the same time. The worst experience you’ve ever had with the best group of guys you’ve ever known. Some of your happiest memories date back to that time, but also some of your saddest memories too.”

Full Interview - Transcript
raphael_davis_interview_transcript.pdf
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​​Interviewing, research, writing and design by Nancy Cavaretta
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