Robert Rucker Davis was born on November 3, 1890, in McDowell County, North Carolina. Davis was a farmer in the Crooked Creek Township of McDowell when he registered for the draft (World War I) in June 1917. He was subsequently inducted into the service in September 1918 and served with the 57th Pioneer Infantry and Supply Company 323 until honorably discharged in May 1919. He was deployed overseas from September 1918 to May 1919. Davis died in Marion (McDowell County) on November 9, 1981.