Army Staff Sgt. Davis was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia. He was killed in northern Iraq by heavily armed combatants – he managed to kill his attackers during the firefight. Born in Mainz, Germany, Anthony moved to Daytona Beach, Florida with his mother, Ellen Davis, and two siblings. Forrest Buckwald remembers seeing him as a little ragamuffin with a crooked smile and his face pressed against the window of Forrest's gun shop with his eye on the soda machine. Forrest gave the 8 year old a job clearing litter from the store's parking lot of 50 cents and a Coke – every Saturday, no matter the weather, the little boy came back. Soon he was earning a dollar and a Coke. Over the years, Anthony and Forrest became like father and son. He mentored the boy, paying for summer camp and braces, taking him on trips to the Amazon, fishing, and encouraging him to join Post 415 of the Daytona Beach Fire Explorers. Anthony was a born leader who loved to teach the younger recruits with compassion and ambition. At the young age of 15, he won a national award for marksmanship at an Explorers event. In 1999, Anthony graduated from Seabreeze High School where he played running back and wide receiver on the football team, ran track and played basketball. He was one of the more popular guys on campus that everyone liked because of his easy going attitude and quick smile – he was also a huge hit with the ladies. One of his most memorable traits was his habit of losing keys. Friends and family dreaded the midnight phone call from the county fair, where he had spent all his money and lost the keys to his car. When he went to basic training, they were on guard for the phone call that said, I've lost my keys. On October 10, 2000, Anthony enlisted in the Army and had served as a squad leader and a team leader after completing the Ranger program. He loved the military and what he was doing; he was in his tenth deployment with seven previous deployments to Iraq and three to Afghanistan. His awards and decorations include - Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, Two Army Achievement Medals, Two Army Good Conduct Medals, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Combat Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, and Ranger Tab. Because most of Anthony's missions were classified, he wasn't able to talk to friends and family about what he did. One cryptic message he did tell them was, "no news is good news."
Army Staff Sgt. Davis was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia. He was killed in northern Iraq by heavily armed combatants – he managed to kill his attackers during the firefight. Born in Mainz, Germany, Anthony moved to Daytona Beach, Florida with his mother, Ellen Davis, and two siblings. Forrest Buckwald remembers seeing him as a little ragamuffin with a crooked smile and his face pressed against the window of Forrest's gun shop with his eye on the soda machine. Forrest gave the 8 year old a job clearing litter from the store's parking lot of 50 cents and a Coke – every Saturday, no matter the weather, the little boy came back. Soon he was earning a dollar and a Coke. Over the years, Anthony and Forrest became like father and son. He mentored the boy, paying for summer camp and braces, taking him on trips to the Amazon, fishing, and encouraging him to join Post 415 of the Daytona Beach Fire Explorers. Anthony was a born leader who loved to teach the younger recruits with compassion and ambition. At the young age of 15, he won a national award for marksmanship at an Explorers event. In 1999, Anthony graduated from Seabreeze High School where he played running back and wide receiver on the football team, ran track and played basketball. He was one of the more popular guys on campus that everyone liked because of his easy going attitude and quick smile – he was also a huge hit with the ladies. One of his most memorable traits was his habit of losing keys. Friends and family dreaded the midnight phone call from the county fair, where he had spent all his money and lost the keys to his car. When he went to basic training, they were on guard for the phone call that said, I've lost my keys. On October 10, 2000, Anthony enlisted in the Army and had served as a squad leader and a team leader after completing the Ranger program. He loved the military and what he was doing; he was in his tenth deployment with seven previous deployments to Iraq and three to Afghanistan. His awards and decorations include - Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, Two Army Achievement Medals, Two Army Good Conduct Medals, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Combat Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, and Ranger Tab. Because most of Anthony's missions were classified, he wasn't able to talk to friends and family about what he did. One cryptic message he did tell them was, "no news is good news."
