Army Staff Sgt. Anthony D. Davis

Died January 6, 2009 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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29, of Daytona Beach, Fla.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia; died Jan. 6 in Tikrit, Iraq, of wounds sustained when he was shot by enemy forces.

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Stepfather recalls penchant for losing keys

The Associated Press

Anthony D. Davis had a love of fishing and sports, and a habit of losing keys.

“He could not keep the keys to his house or his heart for very long,” said his stepfather, Nelson Buckwald.

Buckwald said he wondered when Davis went off to basic training if he would get a phone call from the Army to pay for “vehicles that no longer had keys.”

Davis, 29, of Daytona Beach, Fla., died Jan. 6 in northern Iraq of wounds from enemy fire. He was a 1999 high school graduate and was assigned to Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.

“Davis died defending his nation fighting alongside his buddies, leaving behind hundreds of Rangers who called him their friend,” Lt. Col. Brian Mennes said.

Davis was on his sixth Middle East deployment, with three previous deployments to Iraq and two to Afghanistan. He was called Cookie by his Army buddies for zealously cooking for friends.

“Davis leaves behind a legacy in the countless Rangers who he has trained, influenced and befriended through numerous years of service and multiple deployments with this Regiment,” Col. Richard D. Clarke said.

Davis is also survived by his mother, Ellen Davis.