Cpl. Seamus M. Davey | Force Recon Assoc

Cpl. Seamus M. Davey
Died: October 21, 2005

The initial reports of Cpl Davey's death were incorrect. All references to an improvised explosive device in the stories below have been stricken. An actual account appears in Cpl. Davey's Bronze Star Citation:

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the BRONZE STAR MEDAL (Posthumously) to

CPL SEAMUS M. DAVEY
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

for service as set forth in the following

CITATION:

For heroic achievement in connection with combat operations against the enemy as a Reconnaissance Scout, Team 2, 7th Platoon, 2d Force Reconnaissance Company, Regimental Combat Team 2, 2d Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM 04-06. On 21 October 2005, in Abu Hyatt , Iraq , Corporal Davey's team was tasked with conducting point raids and the cordon and search of over 70 buildings that were known to be a staging area for foreign fighters and insurgents. Upon entering a house, his team was ambushed by four enemy gunmen at ranges of less than ten feet. Corporal Davey was struck by multiple rounds and collapsed to the ground. Ignoring his wounds, and without regard for his safety, he continued to engage the enemy. Corporal Davey's suppressive fire drew the enemy's attention from his fellow Marines, thereby allowing them to safely withdraw from the room. Corporal Davey continued to engage the enemy until he was mortally wounded. By his zealous initiative, courageous actions, and exceptional dedication to duty, Corporal Davey reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

The Combat Distinguishing Device is authorized.

For the President,

J.F. SATTLER
LIEUTENANT GENERAL, U. S. MARINE CORPS
COMMANDER, U. S. MARINE CORPS FORCES, CENTRAL COMMAND

Cpl Seamus M. Davey, 25, of Lewis Lowville, N.Y.; assigned to the Marine Forces Reserve's 4th Force Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Reno, Nev.; attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward); killed Oct. 21 by an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in the vicinity of Haqlaniyah, Iraq.

Marine with unit based in Reno killed Monday would have been corporal's 26th birthday
By KEITH ROGERS
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Oct. 25, 2005

On Monday at their home in Lowville, N.Y., the family of Marine Cpl. Seamus M. Davey blew out the candles on his birthday cake and remembered that "he grew up to be such a fine young man," his mother, Lorene Davey, said.

He would have turned 26. But on Friday, while assigned to the Reno-based 4th Force Reconnaissance Company, an improvised bomb exploded and killed him while he was in combat operations near Abu Hyatt, a small town in Iraq's Anbar province, a command representative in Nevada said.

"He was doing what he thought was the right thing. He felt we should be over there," Lorene Davey said.

The 4th Force Recon Company, a Marine Reserve unit, is part of the 4th Marine Division and is an airborne Marine company that specializes in terrain reconnaissance, capturing prisoners and engaging the enemy by supporting arms, according to GlobalSecurity.org, a defense and intelligence policy group based near Washington, D.C.

Lorene Davey said she did not know what mission her son was on. "He couldn't say what he was doing," she said.

She said that he had been in Iraq for about a month and that she last talked to him at the start of September.

He was a single man, she said, recalling that he told his family: "We all know I'm going to war. I don't need a wife to worry about me."

He was born Oct. 24, 1979, in Pensacola, Fla. He grew up in Lowville, a rural community in upstate New York, where he graduated from Lowville Academy and Central School, a K-12 school with 1,300 students.

He had been an athlete who loved all sports, especially lacrosse.

But most of all, his mom said, he had been "a wonderful son," one who had made his dad, Derek, a Marine, proud, as well as his three sisters, Shiloh, Brittany and Austin.

Lorene Davey said Austin, a senior in high school, was having a tough time dealing with her brother's death. "He was her hero," she said. "His oldest sister (Shiloh) is very, very angry because she is getting married, and he was going to be in her wedding."

Seamus Davey joined the corps at 18 out of high school.

After completing active duty at Camp Pendleton, near San Diego, he wanted to stay in reconnaissance as a reservist.

The closest place for that specialty was the 4th Force Reconnaissance Company near Reno, where he traveled for training once a month.

After active duty, he settled in San Diego and was attending community college and coaching lacrosse at Patrick Henry High School.

A service with full military honors will be held Saturday at the school in Lowville.

The family requests that donations be sent to Lowville Academy and Central School for a women's lacrosse program.

We Celebrate the life of:
Seamus M Davey
KIA Oct 21, 2005

LOWVILLE, N.Y. – Corporal Seamus M. Davey, 25, of the Marine Forces Reserve’s 4th Force Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Reno, Nevada, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, his unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), died on Friday October 21, 2005 in vicinity of Haqlaniyah, Iraq.

His Funeral Service was held Saturday, October 29, 2005 at 11:00 a.m. at Lowville Academy Central School auditorium with Rev. Sarah G. Sanderson-Doughty, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Lowville, officiated. Military Honors followed.

Born in Pensacola, Florida on October 24, 1979 the son of Derek M. and Lorene A. Olson Davey, Seamus graduated from Lowville Academy and Central School in 1998, and attended Grossmont College in El Cajon, Calf., while living in San Diego, Calf.

At Lowville Academy he played football, basketball, and lacrosse, where he was with the lacrosse program since its inception.

He is survived by his parents, Derek and Lorene of Lowville; three sisters: Shiloh M. Davey and her fiancé Ryan Mackey of Cambridge, Mass; Brittany L. Davey and Austin A. Davey both of Lowville; his paternal grandparents James R. Davey of Lowville, and Marget S. Davey of Brantingham; aunts, uncles, and cousins.

He is predeceased by his maternal grandparents Frederick Olson and Conradine Ross.

Seamus was a member of the First Presbyterian Church,

Lowville and Lewis County Detachment #754, Marine Corps League.

Often the words we see in one of the published obituaries just do NOT cover the person lost to the family - it does not show the likes, the dislikes, the 'feelings', the love and the devotion to family - and more.

A standout athlete at Lowville Academy, Seamus played Lacrosse for the school 60 miles Northeast of Syracuse.

"I think that was the way to describe him is an all American type kid that everybody enjoyed being around him, friendly and respectful to everyone. He treated other people in a positive way and I think that's why people enjoyed him," said Robert Goss, Athletic Director at Lowville Academy.

Seamus took the Marine Corps and excelled in infantry tactics, leading him to the Marines elite Reconnaissance units and eventually the 4th Force Reconnaissance Co., Reno, NV, a Marine Reserve unit.

While training with the 4th Force Recon once a month, Seamus attended college in San Diego and helped coach Lacrosse at Patrick Henry High School, also in San Diego.

Seamus, like many special operators, went to work for a military contractor in Iraq after he left active duty. He spent several months working on a Personal Security Detail for Triple Canopy where he protected State Department Officials near Tikrit.

He wrote to the students on his team saying, "We get a lot of US news channels out here, CNN, Fox, MSNBC, even BBC. And what they say is for the most part correct. But the thing is, they choose what correct information to tell everyone. They only like to show the most horrific things that are going on out here, not the meetings that the State Department is having and all the money they are giving out to create jobs for the real Iraqis."

At the time he wrote the letter, Seamus knew he was going to Iraq for duty with the Marines, "I told Steve that I wish to help out with the team again this year, but he cannot depend on me for the whole season because of this possible activation. So my plan is to volunteer and make as many practices and games as possible. But just as an assistant."

And he closed the letter with, "a request to all the Sophomores to find all the freshmen that are interested in playing this year and get them out to a field and throw some balls around. The quicker everyone is up to par on personal skills, the quicker we can get down to the team skills and win a few more games this year."

"In a matter of seconds, it was all over. The terrorists were dead and the brilliant light
of Seamus Davey had been given for a country he loved, a cause he believed in and lifted to the heavens."

At Seamus' memorial service in Iraq, an Iraqi Special Forces unit that worked with the Recon Marines came to pay their respects. "That their Colonel requested to attend Corporal Davey's memorial is a testament to the fact that the Iraqi people understand the cost of freedom and are willing to pay the ultimate price.

The Iraqi troops have suffered casualties and deaths, just like the other coalition forces. Even though they can't speak our language, they completely comprehend the unwritten warrior's creed," McKinney said.

One by one, on a dusty base in Al Anbar, the Marines, Soldiers, and Iraqis passed by and touched Seamus' helmet and said goodbye to a national treasure.

"Every one of these reservists volunteered to come here. Like Corporal Davey and Sgt Lee, they know the risk, but also know the importance of this mission and the liberation of a people so long repressed," McKinney said.

The final verse of the Marine Corps hymn sings:

If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven's Scenes
They will find the streets are guarded

By UNITED STATES MARINES

After the initial invasion of Iraq, Seamus posted a message on an internet memorial to his former 1st Sergeant, Ed Smith, who died from wounds received in Iraq on April 5, 2003.

"1stSgt, I can only wish that I was in Fox company a little bit longer to soak up the wealth of knowledge that I know you had to give... They all know as well as I that you were no doubt leading from the front on that fateful day. And your leadership no doubt kept other, younger marines alive," Seamus wrote. "1stSgt, if we have to go back there, we'll make a place in our trucks for a seventh man a Real American Hero. And when I get extracted, I hope you'll be on post guarding the streets to check me in."

Corporal Seamus Davey:
October 24th, 1979 -- October 21st, 2005

Guarding Heaven's Streets:
from October 21st, 2005 to Eternity.

{above copied from FACES FROM THE FRONT}

Seamus was born Oct. 24, 1979, in Pensacola, Fla. He grew up in Lowville, a rural community in upstate New York, where he graduated from Lowville Academy and Central School, a K-12 school with 1,300 students.

He had been an athlete who loved all sports, especially lacrosse.

"He was doing what he thought was the right thing. He felt we should be over there," his mother said. But most of all, his mom said, he had been "a wonderful son," one who had made his dad, Derek, a Marine, proud, as well as his three sisters, Shiloh, Brittany, and Austin.

We extend to Seamus Davey's family our deepest of sympathies and our thanks for raising such a dear and precious son and brother. His service to others will never be taken for granted nor forgotten!

MAY GOD BLESS YOU

Seamus Davey!