SGT James Mark Davis, Flagstaff, AZ on www.VirtualWall.org The Virtual Wall® Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall

Operation Toan Thang 44 was a combined 1st and 2nd Brigades, 25th Infantry Division, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, and ARVN Airborne Division operation against North Vietnamese Army (NVA) Base Areas 353, 354, and 707 in Cambodia conducted between May 6-14, 1970.

On May 8th, the 6th Battalion, 31st Infantry of the 3rd Brigade, 9th Infantry Division, conducted airmobile operations in the Parrott's Beak, a salient in southeast Cambodia that protrudes into Vietnam and served as a base and rest area for the NVA and the Vietcong. Significant ground contacts occurred at 1:52 PM and 2:30 PM in an area 800 meters south of Chantrea in the Parrot's Beak when Companies A, B, and D, 6-31 Infantry, engaged an unknown number of enemy resulting in seven enemy killed. U.S. casualties in the engagements were five killed and nine wounded.

The fighting began after the lead elements of Company D entered Chantrea when heavy enemy fire forced the unit back with the loss of one American and one Kit Carson Scout wounded. Company B, entering the city from the south, was also repulsed with the loss of four U.S. killed and eight wounded due to heavy automatic weapons, small arms, and mortar fire. C Company attempted to penetrate the city's northeastern edge, but it too was forced to withdraw after suffering two U.S. wounded. The city was then pounded throughout the remainder of the day and following night by ten USAF tactical air strikes and continuous helicopter gunship strikes.

On the morning of May 9th, four more attempts to enter the city by Companies A and D were repulsed and again the city was hammered day and night by continuous air and artillery strikes. On the morning of May 10th, the city was assaulted by Companies A, B, and D and taken with no resistance. A Hoi Chanh (enemy defector), captured on the morning of May 9th by A/6-31, revealed the size of the enemy force to be 200 men.

Arizona Republic, Phoenix, Arizona,
14 May 1970, Thursday, Page 3

Arizona Daily Sun, Flagstaff, Arizona,
19 May 1970, Tuesday, Page 3

Arizona Daily Sun, Flagstaff, Arizona,
09 Jul 1970, Thursday, Page 1

SGT James Mark Davis was survived by his parents, Dora Ruth (Parsons) Davis (1921-2014) and James Robert Davis (1920-1976). He was cremated and it has not beend determined if his ashes were inurned anywhere.

- - The Virtual Wall, 28 November 2022