A veteran with two decades of military service will be honored by Concord University during a special program on Wednesday, Nov. 12.
Tom Davis, who is a graduate of Concord and an adjunct faculty member at the University, will receive the Veterans Advocate of the Year Award during Concord’s Veterans Appreciation Ceremony. The program, sponsored by the Concord Veterans Committee, will begin at 12 noon in the Wilkes Family Chapel in University Point. The community is invited to attend.
Davis graduated from Concord in 1968. The day following graduation, he received his draft notice during the Vietnam War. He says he immediately decided to join the U.S. Navy. He served in the Navy from 1968 through 1989, with one year out of the Navy (broken service). Tom married Carol Huffman in 1970, and she was with him during his stint in the Navy. They had a daughter, Heather.
His military career included four years on a nuclear submarine, six years on submarine repair ships, and shore duty in Charleston, S.C. Davis became a Chief Petty Officer in 1983 and in 1986, he became a commissioned Chief Warrant Officer. He continued his education by obtaining a master’s degree from the Citadel in Charleston while he was on shore duty there. He retired in September 1989.
From late 1989 through 1990, Davis taught at Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley, W.Va. In 1992, he was hired as an adjunct instructor in Concord’s Biology Department and has been teaching at the University since then. From 1994 through 2001, he coached cross country and track for Concord. He is a resident of Athens, W.Va.
For more information about the Veterans Appreciation Ceremony contact Kati Hatfield in the Office of Special Events at cuevents@concord.edu or 1-304-384-6286 or Lisa Spencer, veterans coordinator, at veterans@concord.edu or 1-304-384-5339.