“I’m honored to re-enlist at the Johnny Cash Museum,” says Davis. “Johnny Cash was a pioneer. He persevered through a lot of hard times, but set a goal to become a musician and became a damn good one at that. Also, he had a very rogue, non-traditional approach to getting things done.”
Davis enlisted in the armed services in December 2007 and completed basic training in January 2008 in South Carolina. Throughout his active duty, he has been stationed in Arizona, Germany, South Korea, Tennessee, Turkey and Washington. The Clinton, MS native will be joined by his close family and friends at the ceremony located in the Johnny Cash Museum’s Patriotic Exhibition, “The Ragged Old Flag Room.”
“We are honored to have Christopher demonstrate his commitment to our great country by re-enlisting in The Johnny Cash Museum,” says Founder Bill Miller. “It’s so appropriate to hold the ceremony in our ‘Ragged Old Flag Room’ which commemorates Johnny’s undying patriotism to our flag and country.”
JR Cash enlisted in the United States Air Force on July 7, 1950. The enlistment was the reason his name was changed to the one we know today: when he enlisted, he had to have a first name rather than initials. It was at this time that he chose the name John. Cash completed basic training in San Antonio and was deployed to Germany. He served as a Morse Code Intercept Operator and was actually the first American to hear of and report Stalin’s death. The Air Force period was an important chapter in Johnny Cash’s life. It was there that he was first inspired to write the iconic lyrics for Folsom Prison Blues after seeing the film “Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison.” It was also during this deployment that he would purchase his first guitar in Germany for $5 and joined his first band, The Landsberg Barbarians, with a group of fellow servicemen. Cash was honorably discharged with the rank of Staff Sergeant on July 3, 1954.
The Johnny Cash Museum most recently welcomed its one millionth visitor in December of 2017. To date, in 2018, the attraction has been featured in/on the following publications: CBS Nationwide, Chicago Tribune, College Magazine, Food & Wine, Houston City Book, Rolling Stone, Southern Hospitality Traveler, Southern Living, Travelhost & USA Today. Icon Entertainment Group, the parent company for The Johnny Cash Museum, also owns and operates Nudie’s Honky Tonk, Patsy Cline Museum and Skull’s Rainbow Room. It recently announced that a Merle Haggard Museum and Merle’s Meat+3 will be among their award-winning offerings in late 2018.