Rex Darwin Davis (June 11, 1924 – January 7, 2008) was an American law enforcement official who served as the first director of the

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention ...

, which later became known as the

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention ...

Early life and education

Davis was born June 11, 1924, in

Skiatook, Oklahoma Skiatook (Skī·ǎ·tōōk ''or'' Skī·ǎ·tǒǒk versus Skī·tōōk ''or'' Skī·tǒǒk) is a city in Osage County, Oklahoma, Osage and Tulsa County, Oklahoma, Tulsa counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma located in the northeastern part of t ...

. He studied at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

in 1942, though his education was interrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. During his time in the military, he flew thirty-three

combat mission ''Combat Mission'' is a series of computer wargames simulating tactical battles. The series has progressed through two distinct game engines. The original game engine, referred to as 'CMx1' by the developer, Battlefront.com, powered a trio of g ...

s with the

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...

. He returned to civilian life a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

, decorated with the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

and

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

Contemporary Authors Online ''Contemporary Authors'' is a reference work that has been published by Gale since 1962. The work provides short biographies and bibliographies of contemporary and near-contemporary writers and is a major source of information on over 116,000 liv ...

, Gale, 2009. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center.

Farmington Hills, Michigan Farmington Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northwestern Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Farmington Hills is located roughly from downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 United States censu ...

Gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface wind moving at a speed between .

, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC. Document Number: H1000023753. Fee via

Fairfax County Public Library The Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL) is a public library system in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It includes eight regional libraries, 14 community libraries and the Access Services Library Branch, which removes barriers to ...

, accessed 2009-05-03. After serving in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

from 1943 to 1946, he married and completed a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...

in 1949. During the 1965–1966 school year, he was a visiting student at the

Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (''abbrev.'' SPIA; formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of c ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

Career

Davis began his career as a criminal investigator with the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...

, serving from 1949 to 1955 in

McAlester, Oklahoma McAlester is the county seat of Pittsburg County, Oklahoma. The population was 18,363 at the time of the 2010 census, a 3.4 percent increase from 17,783 at the 2000 census.Shuller, Thurman"McAlester" profile ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and ...

. Davis also served as a part-time law instructor and assistant director at

United States Treasury Police The United States Treasury Police was the federal security police of the United States Department of the Treasury responsible for providing police and security to the Treasury Building and the Treasury Annex. The Police force merged into the US ...

training school in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, from 1953 to 1961. Davis later became an administrator at the

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, statutorily named the Tax and Trade Bureau and frequently shortened to TTB, is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury, which regulates and collects taxes on trade and imports of alc ...

, and served as the first director of the

Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention ...

when it became independent from the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

. Davis retired from federal service in 1978, and began working as an executive of trade associations in the alcoholic beverage industry. He served as president of the National Association of Beverage Importers and chief executive of New Europe Wines. In 1984, Davis testified before the

United States House Committee on Ways and Means The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other progr ...

about the market expansion for American-produced wines. Davis later served as the executive director of the President's Forum of the Beverage Alcohol Industry. Davis was a strong supporter of the

Brady Campaign Brady: United Against Gun Violence (formerly “Handgun Control, Inc”., the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for gun control and against ...

against

gun violence Gun-related violence is violence against a person committed with the use of a firearm to inflict a gunshot wound. Gun violence may or may not be considered criminal. Criminal violence includes homicide (except when and where ruled justifiable ...

. He was a founding member of the National Law Enforcement Museum in Washington.

Death

He died of complications from a colon infection, January 7, 2008, in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Rex D. 1924 births 2008 deaths Law enforcement officials from Oklahoma Law enforcement officials from Washington, D.C. People from Skiatook, Oklahoma Princeton School of Public and International Affairs alumni University of Oklahoma alumni Recipients of the Air Medal United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Department of the Treasury officials Internal Revenue Service people United States Army Air Forces officers Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Directors of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives