VETERAN KEITH DAVIS RECOUNTS ROLE AS SOLDIER AND LIBERATOR AT PAYSON LIONS CLUB MEETING

Pictured (left-right): David Wilkinson, veteran, present-day Lion and past-Club President, his mentor and friend, Keith Davis, and Rhett Huff, current Lions Club President.

At ninety, Keith Davis still carries a clear recollection of the cruelty and the courage he witnessed as a soldier on the killing fields of Europe during World War II.   These memories were shared with the Payson Lions Club early this month.

Mr. Davis was the club’s special guest and speaker January 8, who arrived by invitation from Lion and Veteran, Dave Wilkinson. Mr. Wilkinson had been “taken under his wing” as a young veteran seeking fellowship with the American Legion, over which Davis has served as Legion Commander in Springville.

“Most of all, he’s been a really good friend,” Wilkinson added as he noted his respect for a his mentor.

Davis was barely eighteen years old in 1944 when he was drafted into the U.S. Military, then sent with the 16th Field Artillery to Utah Beach in Normandy, France, to fight in the Battle of the Bulge.  He survived intense fighting there and countless devastating acts of war that followed.  He was among Ally liberators of Nazi concentration camp prisoners toward the end of the war, scenes too horrendous to forget.

His service to society continued after his role as soldier ended.  Over the years, Davis supported fellow veterans with the American Legion Post 28, and helped maintain a cultural tradition through his leadership with the Sons of Utah Pioneers.