Richard J. Davidson, Jr., Banker and Merchant Marine Veteran, Joins Support Foundation Board
(June 2018) Richard J. Davidson, Jr., a senior vice president of U.S. Bank in San Diego and veteran Merchant Marine captain, has been named a director of the Miramar National Cemetery Support Foundatio
Davidson, 53, joined U.S. Bank’s Private Wealth management division in 2010. As a Private Banker, he provides personalized service for the day-to-day management of his clients’ financial activities. He specializes in tailoring custom strategies for his client’s personal and business lending and deposit needs. Before entering the banking field in 2001, he sailed for 15 years as a ship’s officer and master of merchant vessels.
“Dick Davidson is a welcome addition to the Support Foundation board,” said Foundation Chairman Dennis A. Schoville. “He brings a wealth of financial experience that will be of tremendous value as we continue to enhance Miramar National Cemetery. He has made his home in San Diego for many years, and is committed to the community.”
Catherine Fiorelli, Foundation President & CEO, welcomed Davidson to the board, and said, “Dick’s background as a Merchant Marine officer will extend the board’s reach into an important community of veterans. Merchant mariners are essential to our nation’s defense and commerce.”
Prior to U.S. Bank, Davidson was vice president and commercial real estate loan officer at Torrey Pines Bank from 2005 to 2010. From 2001 to 2005, he served as a financial analyst, commercial lending officer, and assistant vice president with San Diego National Bank.
Merchant Marine Academy Graduate
Davidson is a 1986 honors graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y., where he earned a bachelor’s degree in marine transportation. After graduation, he worked for the Military Sealift Command, and then was employed by Marine Transport Lines, Inc., from 1987 to 2001. He spent his early years with the company as operations manager, assistant port captain, and sailing as a third officer.
In the following years, he rose through the ranks to second officer, chief officer, and then captain of the company’s petroleum product tankers, chemical tankers, and dry cargo ships.
For his service as a ship’s officer in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Shield in 1990, and Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Davidson was awarded the Merchant Marine Expeditionary Medal by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration.
Davidson holds a U.S. Coast Guard unlimited master’s license, and retired as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve. In 2001, he graduated from San Diego State University with honors, earning a master’s of business administration, with a specialty in finance and entrepreneurship.
Davidson, who grew up in Tewksbury, Mass., has lived in San Diego for 28 years. He and his wife, Chika, make their home in Pacific Beach.
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Story and photos by
Bill Heard, Public Information Officer