On March 20, 2003, Sgt. Andy Davis found himself parachuting into western Iraq as one of the first combat soldiers to engage in Operation Iraqi Freedom.  It was a long way from St. Peter, Minn. where Andy had grown up. 

In 1999, Andy enlisted in the Army and by December of that same year he proudly wore the badge of a U.S. Army Ranger.  Within two years of enlisting, his passion for serving our nation had him promoted to Sergeant, and commanding a 13-person mortar section within a quick-hit, first-strike Ranger unit.

Shortly after his promotion, Andy was deployed on his first of three year-long tours to the Middle East.  During those three years, danger was Andy’s constant companion.  His unit trained rigorously for high-risk missions and aggressive airfield seizures, a situation that caused his unit to be regularly out-numbered, constantly under fire and almost always in perilous situations.  This high level of danger took its toll.  During his time in Iraq, Andy lost three members of his mortar unit, with a fourth member severely wounded.  In all, 29 of Andy’s close friends would lose their lives serving their country.

As Andy says, “I believe in my heart that all of them would have done it again.  They believed in their mission.  From Baghdad to Fallujah, I saw the Iraqi people celebrating because of their new freedoms. They were less fearful, less constricted, and free to have opinions without fear of being tortured.”

Andy continued, “We ensured that millions of people along the Euphrates River were not killed by a ruthless regime.  But more than that, we freed an entire people and brought democracy to the people of Afghanistan and Iraq.”

News

• Andy and other members of Minnesota Families United recently sent care packages to our troops in Iraq. Check out photos here.