Introduction

In November 2003, a letter typed on Fort Benning stationery and signed “Men of Baker Company” was mailed to members of the local media and legal communities of nearby Columbus, Georgia. In the letter, these unknown soldiers, just back from America’s march through Baghdad, pleaded for help. They complained of war atrocities committed by commanders, and of mental health problems that were being ignored by the U.S. Army.

Told by their superior officers to keep these matters quiet because a leak would be embarrassing, the soldiers had to be secretive in their attempts to let people know the hell they were enduring. Along with the letter, anonymous tips were phoned in to local newspaper reporters asking them to investigate these issues. In the letter, their desperation is obvious and heart-wrenching. These young men, who put their lives on the line in service of their country, were now begging total strangers to come to their aid. Most were away from home for the first time in their lives. These naive and inexperienced soldiers did not realize that the calls and letters they sent out in the Columbus area might as well have been sent directly to their army commanders. With their one-hundred-year relationship, the town and the army base are so intertwined that people commonly ask, “Which came first, Fort Benning or Columbus?”

The world’s largest infantry training center, Fort Benning sees more than thirty thousand soldiers pass through the base each year. Most everyone recognizes and appreciates the valuable financial contribution Fort Benning soldiers make to the area, and Columbus residents have always demonstrated great patriotism toward the highly revered base. The economic advantages are vital to the town’s well-being, but there is a definite downside.

Patriotic pride notwithstanding, citizens do complain about local government positions being filled with too many retired army officers, leaving them with the feeling that the everyday needs of Columbus residents take a backseat to the desires of Fort Benning. One unnamed Columbus resident remarked that the two powers are “like an old married couple, each one knows what the other wants without a word passing between them.”

Indeed, the local government’s eagerness to please, combined with the magnitude of Fort Benning, can be an overwhelming force to reckon with. Unfortunately, the family of twenty-five-year-old Army Specialist Richard Thomas Davis found this to be all too true. When Richard, their only son, was murdered in Columbus, the Davises were thrust into a nightmarish blend of military red tape and back alley–style deals of a small-town justice system. The emotional brutality they have faced borders on the sadistic, and it all started with what should have been a joyous homecoming.

On July 12, 2003, Richard returned to Fort Benning after taking part in the initial U.S. invasion of Iraq. He had survived the bloody march through the ancient city of Baghdad and looked forward to reuniting with his parents in St. Charles, Missouri. But just a few days later, at the time of night when the only cars on the road were people weaving their way home from a late-night date or nightclub, the young soldier was driven by four fellow members of the army’s Third Infantry Division to a small patch of woods in Columbus, viciously murdered, and his body set on fire.

Although the soldiers who were present that horrific night may never truthfully reveal the sequence of events that took place, what is certain is that when investigators finally found Richard’s remains four months later, it was obvious that a bloodbath had occurred. As the investigators approached the murder site, the first thing they noticed were small human bones scattered along the ground. It was as if Richard had left a trail to assist them in their search. Following the wooded path, they came upon a small clearing. Lying against a fallen and rotted tree was Richard’s partially burned skeleton, with black, clothlike material covering his skull. Removing the material revealed that he had sustained injuries so severe that his skull was cracked and his teeth were knocked out. There were other obvious signs of trauma in his skull as well: holes. Many, many jagged holes.

Despite being in a wooded area, he was actually in an eerily public location. To one side was Cooper Creek Park, where families hold weekend picnics, play ball games, and fish in a small lake. On the other side was busy Milgen Road, where Columbus commuters travel to work, and the local Peachtree Mall. His body had lain in this spot for months.

* * *

On July 14, the approximate date (nobody knows for sure) that Richard was murdered, seven hundred miles away from the scene of the crime, in St. Charles, Missouri, Lanny Davis did not even know his only son had returned from Iraq. Richard had not had time to call before his murder. His return was revealed when Richard’s supervisor, Sergeant Reginald Colter, called the Davis house on July 16 to ask if Richard was there.

“He’s AWOL,” Sergeant Colter told Lanny.

But Lanny knew there was absolutely no way that was true. Richard wasn’t that kind of soldier; he was dedicated to the army. From that day forward, Lanny spent his every waking moment trying to find out what had happened to his son and why.

But it took four months before authorities even considered Richard a missing person. In the meantime, as the seasons changed from blistering summer to wet fall, many members of Richard’s platoon began attending ceremonies to receive Bronze Stars for bravery. Included among the honorees was Baker Company’s battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel John Charlton.

Charlton received the prestigious Silver Star, and it looked as though Baker Company’s notable reputation as one of the army’s most decorated companies in history would continue. While the award recipients ate dinner, toasted one another, and shared pats on the back for their heroic deeds, what was left of Richard quickly became covered by an abundance of needles and pinecones falling from the tall Georgia pines.

* * *

For Lanny Davis, Richard’s murder resulted in a constant barrage of information as well as many unanswered questions. Naturally, he felt a desire to avenge his son’s murder, and his mind was open to all sorts of conspiracy theories, each and every one of which he’s tediously researched and dealt with. For those willing to examine the crime and its surrounding events, the murder opened a window on the serious problems our soldiers and their families are forced to confront and deal with on their own. Soldiers seeking help are given a wide range of drugs for anxiety and depression in one hand and their weapons in the other. The findings of medical professionals responsible for screening soldiers for the presence of post-traumatic stress are ignored by higher-ranking officers in order to keep even the most dangerous and overwrought soldiers on the battlefield.

Murder in Baker Company: How Four American Soldiers Killed One of Their Own provides a revealing inside look at army culture and the incredible odds our soldiers face. Years of sifting through the tangled mass of government paperwork and watered-down and inaccurate media reports in the pursuit of truth have resulted in this book. Issues of crime, gang violence, rape, mental illness, and war atrocities surround Richard’s tragic murder and others like it. And, like Lanny Davis, a patriotic man who devoted his entire life to the service of our country and lost not only his beloved child but also the faith and trust he once proudly displayed in the military system and America in general, some U.S. soldiers are finding the very foundation of their beliefs crumbling to dust as they discover the intricate deceptions behind the war in Iraq. They are faced with serious personal problems caused by the war and their military duty.

Police statements, court transcripts, and firsthand information from the soldiers who served with Baker Company during the invasion of Iraq provide honest insight and take the reader directly into the courtroom. Unlike the jury, the reader will discover information and testimony of witnesses not allowed in the courtroom. Real truths are always found in the smallest details.

We can no longer view these issues remotely from a television screen; this book is about the cost of war on the most personal level imaginable.