JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Nearly three decades ago, Charlie Davis was in the Mediterranean Sea aboard the USS Saratoga.

Davis, of Webb City, served in the Navy as an aviation electronics technician from 1983 to 1989 — a tenure that included two tours on the USS Saratoga through the Mediterranean Sea and another trip from Norfolk, Va., to San Francisco on the USS Independence.

“You get down where the Atlantic and the Pacific meet, there’s differences in the temperature of the waters,” he said. “When that water meets, it’s turmoil. We were locked down for two weeks — all the doors were shut. Aircraft carriers don’t list, but we were listing 23 degrees.”

Now, some 30 years later, Davis is serving in a different way: as a state representative who chairs the 18-member Missouri House Veterans Committee. Davis, who was elected in 2010, has risen fast on the committee — starting during his first term as vice chairman and assuming the chairmanship at the beginning of his second term.

“It gives me a perspective about what the military goes through,” Davis said of his time in the Navy. Despite being 300 miles away from battle, he said, he believes his experience in the military helps him identify with other veterans. “I’ve never been there, but I can have sympathy because I think I can understand.”

Legislative support

“WE HAVE A LEGISLATURE that supports our veterans, and that’s pretty evident when you look at our vote totals,” said state Rep. Charlie Davis.

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