Wall of Heros / Miracles Through Golf / Texas
Jerry Scott Daves
Private First Class, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division
Date of death December 20, 1989, Operation Just Cause, Panama
Jerry Daves’ Story
20-year-old paratrooper PFC Jerry Scott Daves, 20, killed in the U.S. attack on Panama, was buried with full military honors in the post cemetery at Fort Bragg following the traditional 21-gun salute. His mother clutched the flag that had draped his coffin and wept.
The Army declined to release details of Daves’ death.
The paratrooper was one of 23 soldiers who died in the Dec. 20, 1989 invasion.
‘He is now joining his company in the sacred field,’ an Army chaplain told the family. ‘As we close ranks today, let us rededicate our lives to God. Let us live life to the fullest.’
About 50 bouquets of flowers surrounded Daves’ casket during the brief ceremony, while his brother, whose identity was withheld, stood stiffly at attention wearing the green uniform of the 82nd Airborne.
Daves joined the 82nd Airborne in 1988 and was among the soldiers from Fort Bragg and Fort Ord, Calif., who participated in the invasion that deposed Panama strongman Gen. Manuel Noriega.
Daves was described by friends and relatives as a ‘gung ho’ young man who was proud to be in the Army. He was a major in the ROTC program at South View High School in 1987-88.
He joined the Army in August 1988 and was assigned to Fort Bragg in December the same year. His awards and decorations include the Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Parachute Badge, Expert Marksmen Badge and the Army Service Ribbon.
