Davy Raymond

David "Davy" Raymond was a United States Army infantryman, serving between 1963 and 1968 before being discharged due to mental instability and post-traumatic stress disorder. Raymond was born while his father, Lt. Thomas Raymond, was in Europe fighting during World War II, leaving him to spend his earliest years in the care of his mother, Martha. His brother, Johnny, would be born two years later. Growing up, the two were very close, often getting into trouble for the same reasons. As per tradition in the Raymond family, Davy joined the military in 1961 after his 18th birthday, enlisting in the Army 24th Infantry Division.

Raymond's military service began relatively quiet, until the outbreak of the war in Vietnam, leading to his re-enlistment in 1965, among other contributing factors, including a renewed sense of duty after the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy. After doing a tour and a temporary assignment to Korea, Raymond would return to Vietnam for a year starting in 1967.

In winter of 1968, Army intelligence suggested a possible Viet Cong hideout being disguised as a normal village. The 24th Infantry was tasked with going in and "clearing it out." Davy was among the troops sent in to do the work, and even after realizing it wasn't a front, he was given the orders to shoot civilians on sight or face a court marital. Raymond would suffer from severe flashbacks and night terrors until he was sent to a military hospital for an evaluation and was honorably discharged due to his mental condition.