Background
Davidson was born on November 26, 1915 in Hachita, New Mexico.
Davidson was born on November 26, 1915 in Hachita, New Mexico.
Davidson attended West Point, graduating in 1939.
During World World War II, he served as assistant intelligence officer in the 96th Infantry Division. Later, he served as a squadron commander in George Patton"s Third Army. Following the War, he was assigned as an instructor to the Army"s School of Intelligence in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Starting in 1948 and continuing throughout the Korean War, Davidson was chief, Plans and Estimates Branch, in General Douglas MacArthur"s intelligence office.
lieutenant was during this time that occurred one of the United States Army"s greatest intelligence failures in history - the failure to predict Chinese entry into the Korean war. In 1969, while assigned as commanding General of the Army training center at Fort Ord, California, Davidson was the respondent in the United States Supreme Court decision Parisi v.
Davidson. In that case, the court granted habeas relief to a soldier seeking an honorable discharge as a conscientious objector.
During the Vietnam War, 1967 until 1969, Davidson was the chief of United States intelligence in Vietnam, under the command of William Westmoreland and later Creighton Abrams. He later was promoted to Lieutenant General.
In 1988, he published Vietnam at War: The History 1946-1975, which is widely regarded as one of the most comprehensive accounts of the Indochina wars. He followed it up in 1990 with Secrets of the Vietnam War, where he described his experiences in Vietnam.
Davidson died February 7, 1996 in San Antonio, Texas.
He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Davidson is a member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.