Written By: Sam Bauman
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – Sgt. 1st Class Ryan Davis always dreamt of serving his country.
“I think I was born with a bit of gratitude for my country and the men who had served before me. The lifestyle of a warrior has always been a calling of mine.”
But when he first went to join the Army in 2012, it seemed more like a nightmare to his wife Asia.
“I was not on board. I said ‘no’ and sent him a video of this little girl crying because her dad was gone.”
But after some reflection, “the next day I went up to him and said, ‘you need to join. You need to do it.’”
Just like that Ryan’s military career began.
“Then when I got in, I began to chase being the guy and being in the fight,” Ryan said.
Ryan became an Army Ranger and seven years later he found himself deployed in Afghanistan, where his life would be changed forever.
“We were doing pretty routine things one First Ranger Battalion night getting bad guys. Something happened in the midst of grenade fight and I was left without both legs and an arm,” Ryan recalls.
Asia’s fear, come to life.
“It was, it was rough. It wasn’t a good phone call at all, it was a shock. You don’t expect that. A lot of times when he does leave you expect more of a knock on the door than a phone call saying, ‘you can’t talk to your husband,’ and you don’t know if he’s going to make it. It was hard,” says Asia.
While Ryan fought for his life, rather than block out the memory of the incident he found strength from it.
“I remember all of it; I think that’s one reason it doesn’t haunt me. I thought it was really cool seeing my buddies doing some amazing things. Seeing younger soldiers, I got to kind of raise, step up to the plate and do awesome things to make sure I could come home.”
Although he didn’t fear the memory of that night, he did fear how his son, only six at that time might react.
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