[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 203 (Wednesday, December 13, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1696]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING THE LIFE OF FALLEN MISSISSIPPI SOLDIER ARMY SPECIALIST 
                      (SPC) RAPHAEL SAPTIAN DAVIS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TRENT KELLY

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 13, 2017

  Mr. KELLY of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in memory of Army 
Specialist (SPC) Raphael Saptian Davis who paid the ultimate sacrifice 
while defending our nation on December 2, 2003, during Operation Iraqi 
Freedom. SPC Davis was killed when his vehicle was struck by an 
improvised explosive device in Tampa, Iraq. SPC Davis was assigned to B 
Company, 223rd Engineer Battalion, Mississippi Army National Guard, 
based in Calhoun City, Mississippi.
  According to the Associated Press, SPC Davis grew up in the 
Mississippi Delta. He lived with his mother in Tutwiler, Mississippi. 
SPC Davis graduated from Tallahatchie High School in Webb, Mississippi 
in 1998. SPC Davis attended Holmes Community College in Goodman, 
Mississippi where he was pursuing a degree in engineering. He then 
attended Hinds Community College in Jackson, Mississippi. Davis joined 
the Mississippi Army National Guard in 2001. SPC Davis was deployed 
during his second year of college.
  Clifton Bailey, SPC Davis' father, remembers the last time he talked 
with his son on the phone. ``He called me on November 16th,'' Mr. 
Bailey said. ``He tracked me down until he found me at work. I never 
heard him sound so happy. He told me he was coming home. We all assumed 
he meant Tutwiler, but he knew he was going to his heavenly home. He 
was calling to say goodbye.'' Betty Davis Pimpton, SPC Davis' mother, 
said she always worried about her son as any mother would. ``You always 
hope for the best, never thinking about the worst that can happen,'' 
Mrs. Pimpton said. ``I was really proud of his service. He enjoyed it 
and wanted to make a career out of it.
  Lakeitha Johnson, a classmate of SPC Davis, paid tribute to him on a 
memorial website. ``There isn't a day that goes by when I don't think 
about my classmate and friend, Raphael,'' Lakeitha said. ``I think 
everyone here agrees that the last two years without him have been 
tough. Even though his loss has left a huge void in our community, I 
always think of him and smile. I know that you are in heaven smiling 
down on us and we love you and miss you so much. We'll see you when we 
reach that other shore, Raph.''
  SPC Davis was the father of three children, Raphael Davis, Junior, 
Ravin Davis, and Razavier Seon Davis. His youngest child, Razavier Seon 
Davis, was born four weeks before SPC Davis was killed. Deetra Tucker, 
mother of Razavier, was also a member of the Mississippi Army National 
Guard.
  A funeral was held for SPC Davis at West Tallahatchie High School in 
Webb, Mississippi. SPC Davis was laid to rest in the family cemetery 
located on Sharkey Road in Glendora, Mississippi. SPC Davis' sisters 
and brothers wrote a special tribute to their brother which was printed 
in the program for the funeral. It read, ``Ralph, our beautiful 
brother, there's really no need for words. Your life spoke loud and 
clear. You were not perfect and that's okay. No human being is. You are 
still our brother and we love you. There's a lot of press these days 
about how there are no heroes or great men for our children to look up 
to. They were wrong. Ralph, you are a hero and we will make sure that 
all of your nieces and nephews know you were that special hero. We love 
you.''
  SPC Davis is survived by his father, Clifton Bailey; his mother, 
Betty Davis Pimpton; his girlfriend, Deetra Tucker; the mother of his 
two oldest children, Kimberlie Blount; his three children, Raphael 
Davis, Junior, Ravin Davis, and Razavier Seon Davis; his eleven 
brothers, Cedric Davis, Demarcus Davis, Lamonte Harris, Clifton Davis, 
Junior, Zavier Bailey, Bernard Berryhill, Taierry Brown, Areail 
Wallace, Steve Hill, Terrence Steele, and Maurice Steele; his two 
sisters, Wynde Bailey, and Premmie Stevenson.
  SPC Davis will always be remembered for his service and sacrifice to 
protect America and to preserve the freedoms we all enjoy.

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