Veterans History Project

Life as it was known in the United States, changed on the 7th of December 1941. Our Nation was struck by enemy forces. Some 2500 people were killed in the attack at Pearl Harbor. The staggering amount of destruction, damage, and slaughter was not soon to be forgotten by most Americans. One way to do one’s part in taking the fight to the opposing forces was to “join up”.

Raymond L. Davis (Ray) was in Watertown, New York. (This is the city adjacent to Fort Drum, home of the 10th Mountain Light Infantry now.) He wanted to join the US Army. Those under the age of 21 needed parental permission to do that…not a problem. There were many who signed up from that area so the Army sent some to Buffalo, NY for training and the others to southern Florida. Ray went to Florida. Now, things were looking up! Upstate New York gets more annual snowfall than we can imagine here in the Nebraska Panhandle – and now he heads for warm, balmy Florida.

In the basic training mode, principle emphasis was on physical training, all formats of drill and ceremonies, marching, etc. There was a push on infantry subjects yet an odd absence of individual weapons training was noticed.

Ray liked the training. He remembered his instructors to be tough men who would rather fight it out than just get by. The pay was about $50.00 a month. The duration of this piece of service was about four weeks. Then the soldiers/airmen were sent off to specialized schools, where the emphasis was placed on ground-crew training for airplane mechanics, armorers, and radio operators.

Ray’s follow-on training was to Lowry Air Force Base in Denver where he learned about the weapon systems on the various aircraft used by the Army-Air Force. The plane most studied was the B-25 (a medium range bomber, plus front, rear, and top turrets and their 50 cal. machine guns). The next school was at South Bend, Indiana for more specific aircraft turret and armorer classes. Ray said he was responsible for any weapons added to the B-25 frame. That would be at least 6 machine guns, plus add-ons. “Close enough” would not pass here. Men’s lives were at stake should the guns not function absolutely correctly. Ray also was trained on the weapon systems on the P-51 Mustang aircraft.

In late 1942, Ray and thousands of others were shipping out for war. The ship he was aboard was part of the largest convoy assembled. It was headed for North Africa, Tunisia specifically. The ships carrying the soldiers arrived in January 1943. In the balance was the battle for North Africa, featuring GEN Eisenhower, Patton, Montgomery, Guriard, and Field Marshall Rommel, to name a few. The German Panzers and Tiger tanks were building up forces yet were not as well supplied as they could have been. The politics General Eisenhower had to contend with were a battle onto themselves. The aircraft power was fully engaged and Ray Davis had plenty of work. In Tunisia, bad weather restricted the fighters but they continued to hit tank and troop concentrations and flew battle-area reconnaissance.

In one instance, a grounded plane was inoperable because one of its rocket launchers was jammed…..the round was cooking off. The Commander in charge asked for a volunteer to assist in disarming the rocket. Ray stepped forward and took care of the problem. After it was over, the Commander met him and said “great job, Sergeant!” Ray told him he wasn’t a Sergeant. The Commander replied: “you are now!”

Soon after Ray arrived in Tunisia, the Casablanca Conference (codenamed SYMBOL) was held at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, Morocco, then a French protectorate, from January 14 to 24, 1943, to plan the “European Theatre of World War II” European strategy of the Allies during World War II. Ray said that he and GEN Eisenhower had the same birthdays. Ray mentioned this to the General’s Aide…and the General responded that he wasn’t impressed. The after-Africa strategy was to take the fight to Hitler by moving the war up the “belly of the beast”, going from Italy north to Berlin.

Ray and his unit were sent to Corsica in support of the shuttle bombing missions staged from there. He said he enjoyed the beautiful beaches. There was significant work there as well. The landing strips for planes was not good and many crashes resulted. In planes becoming disabled, Ray and others obtained useful parts from the downed aircraft so that others would fly. Ray served in North Africa and Corsica twenty-two months. While there he stayed in touch with family by writing letters. The pay was usually used to buy bonds. There was little need for walking-around money in war. He and others did pool some money so that they could buy eggs and other groceries in Corsica. The food supplies were lacking. The only thing the cooks had to prepare was very hot chili. There were no entertainment troupes that came through his area.

When operations in Europe ended, Ray returned to the US. Soon he arrived at Lowry Air Force Base, Denver, CO. He wasted no time in re-uniting with his then serious girlfriend. He was promised that the rest of his tour would be at Lowry AFB. He and Dorothy married. Things looked great! Then, about 17 days later, Ray was ordered to Victoria, TX where he helped operate a gunnery range for fighter aircraft. Ray served the rest of his active service there.

Ray eventually moved to the Potter, NE area where he became engaged in the agriculture business. Ray learned of an Air Force Reserve unit in Sidney, NE. He became a member of it and was an instructor of various subjects. He served there with Jack Knicely and Marvin Sherrod, to name a couple of others in the unit. He ended his service in 1962 as a Master Sergeant.

Ray was a member of the American Legion for over fifty years. He was a member of the Honor Guard until 2007.

Thank you for your service, Master Sergeant Davis.