The phrase, "they paid the ultimate price for our freedom" takes a new meaning when the price Lex "Butch" Davis paid for his country is examined in detail. Davis, now an alderman in Sherwood, went to Vietnam as a fresh-faced volunteer who wanted to serve his country. The price he paid was a lifetime of dealing with injuries that should have killed him ... but didn't.

At age 16, Davis lied about his age to volunteer for the United States Army. He received orders for Korea to a supply unit near Seoul. Leaving Korea to return to Ft. Knox, Davis and his young family lived across from the 'famous gold vault’ for eight months.

Sent back to Korea soon, Davis remembered "I hated that place." Serving with the 2ndInfantry Division in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), Davis ran patrols through dangerous territory. The North Koreans dug a tunnel under a landing zone while he was there, but it wasn't discovered until later. Davis recalls seeing a lieutenant sitting in a foxhole crying. "I lost most of my company where that freedom village is," the officer said. After the battle, the U.S. pulled back to the 38th parallel.

Back to the U.S., Davis became a drill sergeant at Ft. Dix, N.].

for 18 months, then was ordered to Vietnam. Shortly after

arriving, Davis' company commander, who was also from

Arkansas, had his legs shot off by a .50 caliber while riding

in a helicopter. The next commander was also killed.

On July 12, 1969, the event which would leave him scarred

and hurt for the rest of his life took place days before

leaving Vietnam, his company was on patrol in the jungle. Earlier,

the U.S. Navy had fired a 155 Howitzer round into the

country side at the Viet Cong, but it had not exploded. The enemy

recovered it and used it in a booby trap on the path Davis' 70-man

company used. Five men were killed outright and 40 were injured.

 Everyone in Davis' platoon was hit except for one. Davis 'injuries

were extremely severe, and later his friends told him, "We thought

you were dead." The Arkansas boy was given first aid and evacuated.

"It sounded like someone stuck a bell over my head and rang it,

 Davis says. He awoke on a helicopter, then passed out. A few days

later he woke up in a hospital in Vietnam as a preacher asked him,

"Would you like to pray?" "You pray for me," Davis answered.

Still later, Davis woke up to find mattress­ es piled on top of him ...

the hospital he was in was under attack. He was evacuated to

Japan for a few weeks, then on to Walter Reed Army

Hospital byway of Alaska. While route he was strapped

inside a Stryker frame and couldn't move anything but his eyes

 and his mouth. He remembers a tire ex­ploded on a jet as they

were leaving Alaska. 'It scared me to death, "he says. Butch

retired from the Army in December, 1969, and stayed in Walter

Reed Hospital for three months. He was then moved to a

VA hospital in Virginia where he stayed for five years receiving

therapy. It was there that Davis learned woodworking.

"I would put a nail between my toes to drive it."

The physical aspect of his recovery was dwarfed by the monumental

task of keeping a good attitude. "You get depressed easily,

Davis said of that time m his life. "I would go back to the hospital

and see the guys still in wheelchairs," and the sight would

remind him of how far he had come, he said.

Moving back to Arkansas in 1975, Davis opened his own craft store

 in 1979. In 1999, Davis ran for alderman and won. "I didn't

even know you got anything for it," he said of the money paid to

aldermen. During his time serving the citizens of Sherwood

he has focused on "solving problems in the community." He

also teaches computer classes at the Jack Evans S. Center.

"People say how blessed they are," the 58- year-old Davis

says with his usual good cheer. "I think I am."