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Dwaine Davis is being honored as Avon’s October Veteran of the Month. Davis was a member of the United States Air Force beginning in April of 1984 for three years, 10 months and 11 days. He was honorably discharged from the Air Force in March of 1988. Upon joining the Air Force, Davis was sent to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX for his basic training. When first joining the Air Force, it was Davis’ intention to be a F-100 jet mechanic. He had scored very high on his Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) with the score determining which jobs are available to choose from for military personnel. Unfortunately, during the physical screening, Davis was found to be colorblind which eliminated the possibility of him becoming a jet mechanic. As he was colorblind, he was given the choice between two guaranteed jobs in the Air Force. His choices were to either become a cook or a firefighter. Davis chose the latter of the two jobs. After making his choice to become an Air Force firefighter, Davis was sent to Chanute Air Force Base in Champaign, IL for his technical school training as a Fire Protection Specialist. Davis was trained to deal with all types of fires including structural, aircraft and other enclosures to perform rescues and other firefighting duties. It was also a part of his training to be able to protect people and the environment from hazardous material releases. After finishing his airmen technical school training, Davis was sent to his first permanent station at the Los Angeles Air Force Base in southern California. He spent two years of his service at this station. Their shifts were 24 hours on and then 24 hours off and would get a three-day break after a certain number of shifts. Davis said that the first day of the break was used just to recover from the previous shift, the second day was enjoyable, but the third day he had to start thinking about the next day’s shift. He enjoyed his time as an Air Force Fire Protection Specialist in the beginning, but soon realized that it was not what he had expected. In the two years stationed at Los Angeles, there were very few firefighter calls or services needed. After two years, he decided to switch bases with a fellow airman to be stationed at the Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, CO. This Air Force base in 2021 would be renamed the Peterson Space Force Base to reflect its role in the Space Force. He was stationed at Peterson until he was discharged from the Air Force. During his three years of service, Davis can only recall being called to one airplane crash which happened at the Los Angeles Air Force base when a NASA research plane burned out. As the aircraft was departing the runway there was a problem with one of the wheels not completely retracting into the aircraft. The wheel ended up crashing through the wing, landing the aircraft back on the air strip in a ball of fire and smoke. As a firefighter, Davis was trained to drive the firefighting rigs. Davis ended his service as a Senior Airmen with an E4 rank; had he chosen to re-enlist, he would have been a Sargeant. Basic training and his Fire Protection Specialist technical training were his favorite parts of his time in the military. He really enjoyed both because he felt that they were more in line with what he had expected when he joined the Air Force. He enjoyed the people that he served with and the places he was stationed in in California and Colorado. While in the Air Force, Davis did receive a Good Conduct Medal and was named Airmen of the Month in 1985. After ending his military service, Davis became a government employee on the Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora, CO as a firefighter. During the year and a half of working as a civilian on the Air Force base he received a promotion to permanent driver at Scott Air Force Base in Belleville, IL. After that he was hired by St. Charles, MO to be a full-time city firefighter for five years. He was finally hired by the Denver Fire Department where he was a firefighter for 25 years before retiring in 2020 as an engineer for the department. After three years with the department in 2001, he was promoted to the rank of engineer. His first job with the Denver Fire Department was driving the hazardous material rig. This was during the time of the anthrax scare where there had been cases of it being mailed to people, needless to say, it was a very busy time on the job for Davis. He then spent the rest of his firefighting career in Denver driving a ladder truck in downtown Denver, which at the time was the busiest ladder company in the nation. Davis was a professional firefighter for 36 years. Davis was born and raised in Bonesteel. Even as a kid, he was interested in firefighting. His dad was a volunteer firefighter for Bonesteel and Davis grew up watching his dad fight fires. For Davis being a firefighter looked exciting. He was the oldest of three siblings, having both a brother and a sister. Davis comes from a long line of military men in his family. His father was in the Air Force in between the Korean War and Vietnam. Two of his uncles also served in the military, both during Vietnam. One enlisted in the Air Force, while the other was drafted into the Army and unfortunately lost his life during the War. Davis’s grandpa served in WW II. Growing up, Davis had wanted to become a Marine, but it was his dad’s Air Force preference that led him to join that military service division. After graduating, Davis worked for his dad at the family’s standard station in Bonesteel. At 21 years old, Davis decided that it was time to join the military. The Air Force was the only branch of the military at the time that would guarantee Davis that he would have a military job, which was one of his non-negotiables of joining. As he was retiring from the Denver Fire Department, Davis began dating his high school sweetheart and decided to move back to South Dakota and settle in Centerville. After parting ways, Davis wanted to look for a home with a garage. A garage was important to Davis as one of his hobbies is drag racing. A house with a garage became available in Avon and Davis decided to make the move. He enjoys being a resident of the Avon community as it is a nice place to live and has been a good fit for him. One of Davis’ passions is drag racing. He races a 1974 Firebird, restoring the one that he has kept since he first drove it as a junior in high school. Even in high school, Davis had a love for cars and would go to Thunder Valley in what is now Parker as a high school student as well as did some bracket racing for a couple of years after graduating. It was racing that really pushed Davis to stop working for his dad as he wanted to pursue it full time. He started drag racing in 2016 in the National Hot Rod Association Division 5. He really enjoys racing because he finds it fun as well as very competitive. This year he raced in Denver; Brainerd, MN; Earlville, IA; Topeka, KS; St. Louis, MO; and Dallas, TX. The season is almost over, but there is one more race that will be held in Kearney, NE in late October. He also enjoys hunting pheasants and fishing for walleye. Davis has two children and a three-year-old grandson. Over the years, he has been involved in several organizations including the Avon American Legion (since 2022), a member of the Midwest Class Racers, and was a member of the Riverside County Volunteer Fire Department while stationed in California. Thank you, Dwaine, for your service and for being Avon’s October Veteran of the Month.