Herman Davis was a decorated American sniper of World War I. He was a United States Infantry Private Company I, 113th Infantry Regiment, 29th division.
Born in Manila, Arkansas, Davis was drafted into the Army in March 1918. On October 10, 1918, he achieved distinction by killing four German machine gunners, using a standard-issue 1903 Springfield with open sights, near Verdun during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. The gunners had pinned his platoon down and his actions secured safety to advance for the platoon. In another instance, Davis shot and killed five members of an enemy crew that was setting up a machine gun 1,000 yards away in an area they thought was out of range of American troops. Being told the distance was too great, he said "Why, that's just a good shootin' distance." His marksmanship was attributed to skill he had developed as a youngster hunting small game in the Big Lake area.
General Pershing named Davis fourth among the 100 greatest heroes of World War I. He received the Distinguished Service Cross, the Croix de guerre with palm, the Croix de Guerre with Gilt Star and the Médaille Militaire awards from the American and French governments.