Above the clouds: an Army mechanic’s ongoing journey towards the stars

SEMBACH, Germany - From Galileo to Neil Armstrong, human kind has always wanted to know what was beyond the clouds. Curiosity has led past astronomers and astronauts to new galaxies.

Studies done by New York’s “The CUT” show that only six percent of Americans accomplish their childhood dream job. For a U.S. Army wheeled vehicle mechanic, becoming an astronaut has always been part of his plan.

Born in South Carolina, Sgt. Graham Davis, a wheeled vehicle mechanic for 10th Army Air Missile Defense Command, grew curious about the stars after watching shows like “Voltron,” “Transformers,” and “Star Trek,” where he said watching young teenagers save the galaxy made him believe that he could do the same. Determined to become an astronaut, Davis created a plan where he would use high school football in order to obtain a scholarship to study physics and astronomy.

During his senior year football season, as Davis played against a rival school, a linebacker from the opposing team fell on Davis’ left leg and fractured it. All the hopes for his football scholarship got injured along with his leg.

“It set a seed in me that if I want to do something that is physical, it can be gone at any moment,” said Davis.

He realized that training his mind was just as important as his body and his plan of attending university was not over because of his injury. He looked up to people like Stephen Hawkins, theoretical physicist, who despite his disabilities, managed to succeed.

After graduating high school in 2006, Davis majored in psychology at South Carolina State University, until he learned about the astronomy program.

“I was walking around and saw Dr. Cash, who would later become my professor,” said Davis. “She had stars and constellations all on her room door so it made me go in there and ask ‘how can I learn more about that?’”

As Davis dived deeper into astronomy, he discovered Charles Bolden, a former Administrator of NASA and astronaut. He learned that a big part of Bolden’s journey was serving as a pilot for the United States Marine Corps.

“NASA was a big thing for me growing up,” said Davis. “Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and all of the people that got to do amazing things and give a sense of pride to the country. It made me want to be a pioneer and be on that cutting edge.”

In the middle of his junior year of college, Davis decided to pause his education in order to become a Marine. With the hopes of fast-forwarding his dream, Davis attempted to become a commissioned officer in the Marines Corps. He was told to join the enlisted Marine Corps Reserves, then later apply to the Platoon Leadership Program, a system which would allow him to transfer from an enlisted member to an officer. Davis did not think twice and in July 2010, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps.

“People think that if you are going into the military you are not educated, you don't care about life, and you just want somebody else to tell you what to do, but that is not the case,” said Davis. “People that are driven and focused, decide to join the military and they are doing it for their overall goal.”

Once Davis was stationed in McCrady Training Center, a base close to both his school and his family, he went back to SCSU ready to chase his dream. For multiple reasons the school marked Davis as a college dropout and would not allow him to finish his junior year.

“SCSU said that I dropped out of my classes, even though I was on military orders” said Davis. “The board voted and did not accept me back, it kind of knocked me off for a long time that I could not finish out the degree that I wanted.”

“At that particular time, the university didn’t want me back so I had to refocus and figure out what to do,” he said.

He chose to continue his military career while searching for an alternative to SCSU. Shortly after, Davis found out that he would soon be a father. With that news came a growing fear of getting deployed and missing significant years with his family. He decided to leave the Marine Corps in 2016, after his daughter was born.

Davis chose to put a pin on, not abandon, his goal of NASA to prioritize his family. Two years passed and his urge to serve and chase the stars continued. Around the time, Davis’ Father, a law enforcement worker, was looking to retire after more than 20 years of work, but the retirement system was not good enough for him to retire at that time.

Seeing his father’s situation, Davis decided to enlist into the Army due to its stability, retirement system, and the organization’s mission to set up Soldiers for successful careers.

“The Army tends to focus on making sure their Soldier’s careers are generally moving in a good direction,” said Davis.

A 91B, wheeled vehicle mechanic, is not the perfect path towards his goal, but it made it possible for him to understand another aspect of space travelling.

Davis said that his military career is helping him achieve his goal by granting him mechanical comprehension on how vehicles work.

Davis still reaches for the stars every single day. No matter how many times the circumstances of life pushes him back, he will use every opportunity to see past the clouds.

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