Herman Davis State Park is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

in Manila, Arkansas, United States. The park includes the grave of and a memorial to Herman Davis (1888-1923), a U.S.

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The park is located at the junction of Baltimore Avenue and

Arkansas Highway 18 Highway 18 (AR 18 and Hwy. 18) is an east–west state highway of in Northeast Arkansas. Route description AR 18 begins at AR 69 near Jacksonport. Brief concurrencies begins with AR 17 and US 67 (Future I-57) in Newport, and Arkansas Hig ...

, south of the city center. It consists of a grassy area, with a concrete walk leading to the memorial. The memorial is a granite obelisk, in height, in front of which stands a full-size granite likeness of Davis in his infantry uniform. Davis' remains are buried just behind the monument. Davis is also honored with a fountain on the grounds of the Old State House in Little Rock. The fountain was a part of the Arkansas exhibition at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. In 1954, the three-tiered iron fountain was renamed the Herman Davis Memorial Fountain. Davis, a native of Manila, won distinction in the war for taking out a nest of German machine gunners with his marksmanship. Davis was a modest man and rarely mentioned the awards he received for this and other actions (including the US

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

and two French

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

), but was called out by General

John J. Pershing General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was a senior United States Army officer. He served most famously as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Wes ...

, who placed him fourth on a list of 100 heroes of the war. After his death, Arkansans rallied to erect a memorial in his honor, resulting in the establishment of this site as a local memorial in 1925. The park was formally designated a state park in 1953, and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism is responsible for its maintenance. The original statue of Davis, executed in marble, was destroyed by vandals in 1967; it was replaced by the present statue. The park was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1995.

References

{{authority control State parks of Arkansas Protected areas of Mississippi County, Arkansas Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi County, Arkansas Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas Obelisks in the United States World War I memorials in the United States 1925 establishments in Arkansas Buildings and structures completed in 1925 Statues in Arkansas

See also

References