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Taking flight
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| H&N photo by Todd E. Swenson Rod Davis served in the U.S. Air Force as a fighter pilot during Vietnam. |
Rod Davis followed his love of flight into the U.S. Air Force and Vietnam
By TY BEAVER
H&N Staff Writer
He would go on to score two touchdowns in the game, though one was called back.
The military would occupy nearly half of Davis’ life, taking him to three countries and allowing him to enjoy his favorite activity — flight.
His life and career also were shaped by the times and places he lived in, from the Space Race to the war in Vietnam.
Born, raised in Basin
Davis, 75, was born and raised in the Klamath Basin. He attended Roosevelt Elementary, Fremont Junior High and Klamath Union High School. His family lived at the intersection of Portland and Crescent streets, near KU.
The only year he didn’t attend school in the Basin was fourth grade, when his family followed his father to the South while he trained as a tank driver in the Army.
Klamath Falls was still a very Western town at that time. The lumber industry was booming and several brothels, such as Myrtle’s and The Iron Door, were in operation.
A top academic student, Davis also was involved in athletics and spent most of his time playing football, basketball and other sports, or finding ways to play them.
“We knew how to break into the gym,” he said. “If you took two knives you could slide the latch.”
Love of flight
Flight was an early interest. Davis built gasoline-powered model airplanes and flew them as a boy. He longed for the day to be in the cockpit of his own.
After graduating from West Point, Davis’s dream was realized. He was transferred into the Air Force, attended pilot school and became a fighter pilot.
But he only flew for a few years before world events, most importantly the orbit of the Russian satellite Sputnik, prompted the federal government to assign him to other tasks.
In an effort to boost the government’s space program, Davis and others were sent to graduate school. He earned a master’s degree in astronautics from the Air Force Institute of Technology. He then taught other USAF officers for two years.
Astronaut candidate
As a result of his additional training, Davis was an astronaut candidate and was eligible for the Apollo moon missions. He took the astronaut physical examination, a process that takes five days, 12 hours each day.
Among the numerous and unpleasant tests administered, one involved plunging a candidate’s hand into a bucket of ice to test reaction to pain. Davis said two corpsman held his hand in place to prevent him from removing his hand as doctors monitored his heart. It was the singular most painful experience of his life, he said.
Despite his eligibility, Davis opted out of continuing as an astronaut candidate and returned to fighter pilot duty.
“I decided a long time ago not to look over my shoulder,” he said.
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