 1917 - 2014 (97 years)
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| Name |
Willard Frank "Jack" Davis |
| Birth |
19 Feb 1917 |
Gregory Landing, Clark Co., MO  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Death |
5 Dec 2014 |
Nashville, Davidson Co., TN; burial: Mt. Olivet Cem.,Eastwood,Kalamazoo Co., MI |
| Person ID |
I4698 |
forneyclark |
| Last Modified |
23 Apr 2024 |
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| Notes |
- Source:
SEE TONY ARMES' SITE FOR COMPREHENSIVE INFORMATION AND REFERENCES:
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/a/r/m/Tony-Armes-OH/
The ARMES Family of Breckinridge County, Kentucky:
Tony Armes:
Name
Source:
Willard Frank "Jack" Davis:
Sixty-five Years Ago Today
Written by Willard Frank "Jack" Davis on August 14, 2010
Sixty-five years ago today, on August 14, 1945, I was aboard the USS Pierce, a converted troop ship. We had just left the South Pacific Island of Ulithi, when the news came that the second A-bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima. Ulithi was an island about the size of a pancake. We were anchored about a mile off shore and Ulithi was just a sandy speck with a few buildings. The island was a staging area for the Navy. Around us as far as you could see were ships anchored as close together as possible, being formed for the planned invasion of the mainland of Japan. I don't have any idea of how many, but there were hundreds for sure of all kinds: carriers, battleships, cruisers, destroyers, submarines, troop, cargo, hospital, and all the others needed in an invasion. Was quite a sight to see.
Our first stop was to be Okinawa for regrouping for the final invasion. Lucky that never came about or I probably would not be sitting here writing this. When Japan surrendered, we then were ordered to Buckner Bay in Okinawa where we unloaded the unit's gear off a freighter onto the open beach and then sorted out the items we needed as an occupation force, as we were to go to a Japanese Air Base in northern Japan at Ominota. It was the first week in September, and while this was going on, the place was hit directly by a typhoon. We had moved off the troop ship onto five LST's for the trip north. While the troop ship was being sent to Manila to return POWS, sick and wounded to the States, the typhoon really played havoc with the vessels that were forced to stay in Bucker Bay. After the typhoon was over, there were several vessels that had been washed aground onto the beach and onto the coral reef that surrounded the bay. Also as I remember, some one hundred sailors had drowned. The LST that I was on stayed in port, and with the master direction of the captain, we escaped unharmed. There was one tense moment though when the bow of a drifting destroyer escort came within two feet of ramming our side. Had it hit, we may have been in a mess as in our hold were several hundred barrels of 135 octane aviation gasoline. The Good Lord was watching over us!!
We were assigned to be an occupation force in Northern Japan at Ominota. That was an experience of rats. The base was infested with thousands of them. They were everywhere. We slept in cots, and it was not uncommon to wake in the night and have one in bed with you. As soon as possible, poison was put out for them and they were collected as they died. Soon there was a pile of rats some eight feet high. They were hauled off to a safe area, soaked with aviation gas, and burnt. We stayed there till mid-December and then were moved to Kisarazu Air Base some thirty miles southeast of Tokyo, where we set up the terminal base for all Navy flights to and from the States. Remained there until May when the Airfield at Atsuga, nearer Tokyo, was opened. Our unit, ACORN 54, was made up mostly of Reserve personnel, so it was sent back to the States and decommissioned. About forty of us regulars were transferred to Guam for reassignment. I ended up being assigned to Naval Air Base Kobler on Saipan, where I stayed till February of 1947 and got to come back home ending up in Jacksonville FL, adjusting to the post-war Navy until 1958 at which time I decided I had had enough and retired on twenty-one years service.
Source:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/tennessean/obituary.aspx?n=willard-frank-davis-jack&pid=173388660&
Obituary
Willard Frank "Jack" Davis
Waverly, TN
Age 97, December 5, 2014. Direct cremation. Luff-Bowen F.H./Richlawn Crematory, Waverly, 931-296-2437.
Source:
http://www.luffbowen.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=1470973
Willard "Jack" Frank Davis
February 19, 1917 - December 5, 2014
Life Legacy
Mr. Willard "Jack" Frank Davis, age 97, of Waverly, TN, passed away Friday, December 5, 2014, in Tennessee Veterans Hospital in Nashville, TN. Mr. Davis was born February 19, 1917, in Gregory Landing, Missouri, to Richard Overton and Mary Elizabeth Robbins Davis. He was married to Gladys Ruth Patterson Davis, who preceded him in death. He was a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer, retired truck driver, and retired CPA. He was a U. S. Navy veteran and served in World War II and the Korean War. Mr. Davis will be cremated and no local services are planned. His cremains will be buried in the Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
LUFF-BOWEN FUNERAL HOME
RICHLAWN CREMATORY
2400 Hwy. 13 North
Waverly, TN 37185
Telephone 931-296-2437
Source:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=davis&GSfn=willard&GSby=1917&GSbyrel=in&GSdy=2014&GSdyrel=in&GSst=24&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=146354863&df=all&
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Willard Frank Davis
Birth: Feb. 19, 1917
Gregory Landing
Clark County
Missouri, USA
Death: Dec. 5, 2014
Nashville
Davidson County
Tennessee, USA
Willard's dad died when he was 5 years old, he said all the kids took jobs where they could find them, he being the youngest helped at home. During the depression he worked for 10cents a hour at a neighbor farm. He began his Navy career in Dec 1935, serving on the USS Arizona where he acquired his nickname Jack. His first enlistment ended Jan. 1940, and he took a job as truck driver. He re-enlisted Jan. 28, 1942 and retired as a CPO July 3, 1958. He was good with the computer in his later years. He kept his friends informed what him and his dog Ginger were doing about twice a week. He loved to garden and can his tomatoes for soup in the winter. Willard said he felt blessed to have lived to enjoy his many friends and relatives. He always signed off by writing.... God bless, love Jack and Ginger, and at the end it was Jack and Lady.
Family links:
Parents:
Mary Davis (1876 - 1959)
Spouse:
Gladys Davis (____ - 1990)
Burial:
Mount Olivet Cemetery
Eastwood
Kalamazoo County
Michigan, USA
Created by: Karen Windheim
Record added: May 11, 2015
Find A Grave Memorial# 146354863
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