Platoon Commander and Scholar

Colonel William Joseph Davis,U.S. Marine Corps Retired,PhD,was recently interred in Arlington National Cemetery,having died just before Christmas.Colonel Davis,86,was a veteran of three wars,beginning his service as a Navy enlisted man in World War II.After the war,he earned a BA from Penn State University and joined the Marines as a 2nd Lieutenant.He was a platoon commander in the 1st Battalion/7th Marines during the Korean War,and became Commanding Officer of that unit in the Vietnam War.Colonel Davis was decorated for valor several times,receiving two Silver Stars,a Legion of Merit with Combat V,and the Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat V.
Colonel Davis earned his MA at the University of Pennsylvania,where he was a Professor of Naval Science.He also studied at the Air War College in Montgomery,Alabama and was Commanding Officer at The Basic School in Quantico,Virginia. Upon retiring from the service in 1976,he earned a PhD and taught for Pepperdine University at several military bases across the country.The author and publisher of military books,Colonel Davis was known for his swimming and golfing.He is survived by his wife of 63 years,Isabel Anne,a daughter and son-in-law,a grandaughter and two step-grandaughters.