Chris Davis remembered

A U.S. flag stands at half-staff in the Davis' front yard as a family mourns, honors and remembers its fallen soldier.

Margaret Davis stood near the flag Wednesday afternoon, looking at a picture of her youngest brother - U.S. Army Sgt. Chris Davis - tracing it with her fingers and remembering the sixth child in a family of nine, four days after he was killed in Iraq.

A small smile formed on her face as she recalled how her brother could always make his family laugh.

The soldier's family has spent the last few days laughing, crying and remembering the good times - like when they last saw Chris at Christmas.

That last family gathering was like most - loud and fun, with Chris at the center of attention, making jokes and being the loudest of them all, Margaret said.

The 35-year-old solider, who was also a father of three, was killed Saturday when his unit came under attack from an improvised explosive device and gunfire. Three other soldiers also died during the attack.

"We were devastated when we heard," Margaret said. "He's really gone - it's just hard to believe."

The large family, which includes 27 nieces and nephews, is very close, she added. Chris' parents, grandmother and two of eight siblings live in Lubbock.

Margaret said her little brother had a sense of duty to his family and his country.

"He always said he's fighting for us, for our freedom," Margaret said.

The need to serve that led him to enlist in the Army in 1999 started when Chris was little, she added. As a child growing up in Lubbock, her brother consistently looked for ways to help out.

"He was a server," Margaret said. "He was always helping, always serving, always thinking of somebody else - that was Chris."

When her brother came home for Christmas, he immediately began helping his parents - bringing them coffee and offering to go grocery shopping.

He was a "happy, go-lucky" person who wanted to focus on his family and their lives when he came home and avoided talking about the horrors he saw during his four tours in Iraq, she said..

"He was one of a kind," she said.

Davis' wife and three children - sons who are 11 and 9 and a 13-year-old daughter - live in Georgia.

The funeral will be there sometime early next week, Margaret said.

The large family is working on a way to get there. They are trying to raise funds for the trip.

Anyone who would like to help the family can make a donation to the memorial fund at the Alliance Federal Credit Union, 2404 82nd St., in care of Juan Vega.

Margaret said the family also really needs prayers during this time.

From the Avalanche-Journal

Related Link:
Chris Davis dies 'of wounds suffered when his unit was attacked by insurgents using an improvised explosive device and small arms fire'