Army Pfc. William N. Davis

Died March 17, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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26, of Adrian, Mich.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Bliss, Texas; died March 17 in Baghdad when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations. Also killed were Army Sgt. John E. Allen, Army Sgt. Ed Santini and Army Pfc. John F. Landry Jr.

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Soldier dies less than a month before son’s scheduled birth

The Associated Press

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A 26-year-old soldier who was due back home in less than a month for the birth of his son has been killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb that exploded beneath the Humvee he was driving, his mother said.

Relatives of William Davis, of Grand Rapids, said they were notified March 17 that he had died late last week. They did not know where in Iraq he was killed.

“Billy was coming home. His wife was going to have induced labor. He was going to see the baby before he had to go back,” a tearful June Davis told The Grand Rapids Press on March 19.

William Davis’ father served in the military in the Vietnam War, and a grandfather was in the service during World War II. The Union High School graduate was employed by retailer Meijer Inc. and worked in landscaping jobs for a few years before deciding to join the Army about a year ago, his mother said.

“Billy always wanted to go in,” June Davis said. “I didn’t want my son to go, but he was determined.”

He left for Iraq in November from Fort Bliss, Texas, and was supposed to return to Grand Rapids on April 14 to begin two weeks of leave to witness his son’s birth. He and his wife had decided to name their unborn son Caden Andrew, his mother said.

The fallen soldier also is survived by a 3-year-old daughter.

“He was a very good husband and father,” June Davis said. “He wanted to come out and be a policeman.”