Camp Verde resident and military retiree Emily Davis was recently honored by the Military Women’s Memorial in Arlington, Va., during an honor flight with her husband, fellow Vietnam War veteran Larry Davis.
Larry Davis was contacted by Honor Flight, a nonprofit organization that invites veterans to tour the nation’s war memorials. Both Larry and Emily went on an Honor Flight from Phoenix to Washington, D.C. along with 32 other veterans from the Vietnam War and Korean War.
Honor Flight provides this free trip for veterans to show them their appreciation while allowing them to share the experience with other veterans, remembering the fallen and sharing their stories.
The group visited Arlington National Cemetery, the Navy Museum, Air Force Museum and Marine Corps Museum during their weekend trip. At the Military Women’s Memorial in Arlington, a plaque was set up for Emily Davis for being a woman in the military during the Vietnam War.
The Military Women’s Memorial is a tribute to America’s servicewomen past and present. The memorial has an education center, interactive exhibits and a collection of military women’s stories.
Emily Davis was the only woman on the flight, and Larry Davis joked that she instantly became the princess of the flight. He added that a group of schoolgirls were on a field trip to the Air Force Museum and that Emily was a magnet for them. She had young girls hugging her and taking pictures with her.
Emily grew up in the small town of Kingman, Ind., and came from a large family of 12 children. After graduating high school, she decided to join the army.
The army recruiter would pick her up from her house and take her out for doughnuts on the way to the recruiting station. Davis said that the ride to the big city was an adventure for her, and the doughnuts were a plus.
“I was scared to death when I went into the army,” Davis said. “I had never gone anywhere like that or been away from home.”
Davis then ended up in Indianapolis before working as a clerk typist in Baltimore, Ma., primarily typing orders for officers. She served for a little less than two years before leaving the service after marrying and getting pregnant.
Davis later worked for the federal government as a chief information officer for the U.S. Department of the Interior in Flagstaff and also established her own agency building government processing systems.
Davis pointed out that while men had to go into the service in the Vietnam War era, women went in because they chose to.
“It’s a good thing that women are recognized as well as men for doing service to the country,” Davis said.
