MCRD PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- One-by-one, the roll was called. All Marines, present or accounted for, save one. When Cpl. Jason L. Davis’ name was called, only the sound of “Taps” was there to reply.
Davis, 21, died early Saturday morning, and a memorial service was held in his honor Tuesday afternoon.
Here, aboard the Depot of which Davis was a proud graduate, his friends and family gathered to honor the memory of a man they described as a mentor, a friend and above all else, a U.S. Marine.
Davis joined the Marine Corps in Aug. 2003 and graduated from Marine Combat Engineer School in Dec. 2004. He served at Camp Pendleton, Calif., for three years before receiving orders to Parris Island in May.
Upon arriving, he reported to Weapons and Field Training Battalion where he quickly distinguished himself amongst his command and his fellow Marines. His passing was a sudden and unexpected loss, felt by all.
“When a Marine dies in combat, it’s never easy, but we accept those losses,” said 1st Sgt. Doug Schaefer, the Range Company, WFTBn., first sergeant. “The loss of one Marine is too much, but when it happens suddenly, like this, it’s hard to swallow.
“He was a confident, self-assured Marine who always stood up for what he believed in,” he added. “He can’t be replaced.”
At the memorial service, Davis’ relatives stood out amongst a sea of Marine uniforms, his two families brought together in remembrance of their lost son and brother.
His command spoke highly about him, and his friends gathered afterwards to tell stories about him, many of them colorful, all of them uniquely Marine.
In the end, his life as a fellow Marine was how he was remembered. According to his friends, that was what he wanted.
“He and I were in coaches’ course together, and he was excited to be there,”said Cpl. Matthew Clark, a friend of Davis’ at WFTBn. “He loved being a Marine, and he shared that with everybody around him.
“Cpl. Davis was a great Marine, but an even greater friend,” Clark said. “There was none greater.”