Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Republic of Vietnam 

December of 1961 found Specialist James T. Davis of the 3rd Radio Research Unit hard 

at work. Since his arrival at Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon in May, he and the 92 

other members of his unit had dealt with any number of difficult challenges. Life as a U.S. 

Army cryptologist was never easy, but the 100-degree temperatures and constant flooding in the 

old hangar they called home often made their task even more difficult. 

In the field, the situation was even more demanding. For decades, the Communist North, led by the resourceful 

Ho Chi Minh, had battled to establish an independent and united Vietnam free from foreign influence. Ho’s 

forces had met with great success against the Japanese in the 1940s and the French in the 1950s. By the early 

1960s, many feared that if Indochina fell to the Communists, then the whole of Southeast Asia might follow. 

Mao Zedong had once noted that the way to win an unconventional war was to ensure that your forces had 

the capacity to “swim among the people as fish swim in the sea.” Ho’s forces had followed his advice and 

through their efforts had been able to overtake portions of the population of the South. 

“Ambitions Unlimited... Fate Unknown...” 

The series of events that had brought James T. Davis – his friends called him “Tom” – to this strange and 

dangerous land were anything but typical. In 1958, he had been pursuing his studies at Tennessee 

Technological University (TTU) in Cookeville, about 20 miles from his boyhood home of Livingston. The 

oldest son of a local pharmacist, himself a veteran of the European Theatre in WWII, Tom’s childhood 

resembled a Norman Rockwell print. When he was not excelling on the football field for 

Livingston Academy, Tom spent most of his free time hunting and fishing in the deep 

woods that surrounded his hometown. At some point in his senior year at TTU, he 

made the decision to end his academic studies to join the United States Army. 

After enlisting, he was sent first to Ft. Jackson for basic training and then to Ft. 

Devens for instruction in “direction finding.” In May 1961, he received orders 

to join the 3rd Radio Research Unit, Republic of Vietnam. During high school, 

Davis had once written that “my ambitions are unlimited, my fate unknown.” 

His words would prove to be prophetic. 

The 3rd Radio Research Unit 

Davis’ unit had a difficult and dangerous job. Since the First World War, the 

American Army had utilized direction-finding technology on the battlefield. 

Vietnam was no exception to this tradition. The 3rd Radio Research Unit provided 

technical advice to South Vietnamese units on locating enemy signals and provided 

valuable training and guidance on ways to get a “fix” on the insurgents’ locations. 

These Vietnamese PRD teams, as they were called (they were named after the piece of 
equipment used in the operation), hoped to increase the odds of finding 

the stealthy and quick-hitting Communist units that were making life 

difficult for the Army of the Republic of South Vietnam. 

But while direction finding had proved to be a valuable tool in 

the past, like any technical process, its success was dependent 

on any number of external factors. In Indochina, climate and 

terrain made the art of direction finding extremely tricky. In 

many areas of operation throughout the world, their mission 

would have been far less difficult. However, due to the mountainous landscape and the high levels of humidity in the area, it Specialist F

was difficult for them to conduct their work in a safe and secure location 

our Davis with his 

far from the battlefront. The cold, hard truth was that, like so many cryptologists 

radio direction finder 

past and present, Davis and the units he worked with had to “get in close” to be successful. 

Ambush at Cau Xang 

On the 22nd of December, Specialist Four Davis received orders to lead a Vietnamese PRD-1 team to an 

area approximately 12 miles from the base in an effort to locate a Viet Cong guerilla force operating in the area. 

They would move by truck to the area, set up, and in concert with a similar team, attempt to locate the 

enemy. Even prior to the mission on the 22nd, Tom had understood the dangers of his work, noting in a 

letter home that “...it looks like the bad guys have gotten the word to start giving us hell...it could become 

a bit dangerous.” 

Initially, the operation appeared to be routine; however, 10 miles outside the base, near the old French 

Garrison of Cau Xang, the hunter became the hunted. The truck carrying the team hit a strategically-placed 

land mine and was forced off the road. The group immediately came under attack. Davis and his men 

fought bravely, but eventually succumbed to enemy fire. A patrolling South Vietnamese Civil Guard unit 

quickly responded to the area, but it was too late. Davis and nine members of his team lay dead. He would 

be the first American to lose his life in combat, in what would come to be known as the Vietnam War. Two 

weeks later, in tribute to Davis’ service and sacrifice, his unit’s headquarters in Tan Son Nhut would be 

named “Davis Station.” 

“And Now the Trumpet Summons Us Again” 

Even today, the events surrounding the Vietnam War are roundly debated. But there are certain facts about the 

conflict that remain indisputable. One of them is that during this difficult and painful time – a time full of 

doubt and controversy - there were thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines, who, like James 

Davis, remained above the political fray and simply went and did their duty for their country. 

Davis’ sacrifice clearly demonstrates that those who defend America do not get to choose when

and where they fight. They are given orders and are duty bound to follow them to the best of

their ability. Tom and the example he set are stark reminders of this solemn duty and of the fact

that the future of our republic rests on the willingness of such men and women to answer the

call to arms in defense of freedom.

To those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge 

our words that one form of colonial government shall not have passed 

away merely to be replaced by a far greater tyranny... Now the trumpet 

summons us again... to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in 

and year out, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation. 

John F. Kennedy 

January 20, 1961 

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