U.S. Marine Corps veteran studying industrial engineering at UofL

On Nov. 10, the U.S. Marine Corps celebrates its 249th birthday. In honor of this milestone, UofL’s Center for Military-Connected Students introduces us to John Davis, a veteran of the United States Marines and a student in the J.B. Speed School of Engineering.

Louisville native and United States Marine Corps veteran John Davis is a senior majoring in Industrial Engineering.

After attending a small liberal arts college in central Kentucky, Davis decided college was not for him and enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2012, where he served until 2022. 

Davis then enrolled at the J.B. Speed School of Engineering, which he calls the “best engineering school in Kentucky.”

As an infantryman in the Marine Corps, Davis worked his way up to sergeant, infantry squad leader and marksmanship instructor.

After boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, his first assignment was with the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion in Twentynine Palms, California as a scout.

While assigned to Twentynine Palms he deployed twice to the Pacific. During the first deployment, he was attached to the Combat Assault Battalion in Okinawa. During his second deployment, he was with the Battalion Landing Team of 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment part of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, which embarked aboard the USS Green Bay and the USS Bon Homme Richard.

In addition to Okinawa, Japan, his deployments took him to Thailand and the Philippines.

After reenlisting, Davis was stationed in Virginia at the Formal Marksmanship Training Center as a Designated Marksmanship Instructor. At first, he worked on a range facility on Naval Dam Neck Annex in Virginia Beach.

In 2018, the Formal Marksmanship Training Center’s operations moved to a new range facility aboard Naval Weapons Station Yorktown.

While assigned to the Formal Marksmanship Training Center, Davis’ duties included range safety officer and coach for individual shooters, who ranged from private to general.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March 2020, Davis’ unit was the only active Marine Corps range facility on the eastern seaboard. 

This caused the unit to become extremely busy. He recalls working virtually every weekend for the rest of 2020, as reserve units from as far as New York were bused down to meet their numbers.

Davis is married, with two young kids. He is currently working part-time in his third co-op at GE Appliances and anticipates working at GE after graduating from UofL.