DAVIS, HARRY H Aug 9, 1945 age 22 DNB Florida

HARRY HOGAN DAVIS b. Sept 8, 1923 Detroit d. Aug 9, 1945 Died Non Battle

 Ft Myers, Florida

Cpl 36567128 Army Air Force  MPEU #6, 2117 Base Unit, Buckingham Army Airfield, FLA

 

Buried Grand Lawn Cemetery, Detroit

Parents: Harry S. & Mary (Hogan)
Siblings: Ruth Marilyn

Father Harry was born in England, wife Mary in Pennsylvania to a father, Martin Hogan, born in Ireland Free State, as stated on the 1930 census. Who knows how she and Harry met but they married in Detroit in 1919 when he lived in Highland Park. Harry was District Manager for a retail grocery store, probably why in 1940 they moved to Cincinnati. Both Martin and his daughter Marguerite lived with the family in the Braille house.

Redford Senior Play -Back center in uniform

Hi-Y Red 1940

Latin - Back left Harry; Boris Lapping back right

Young Harry graduated from Redford in 1940. He was a member of the ROTC (note he has on uniform in yearbook photos) Latin club, the Honor society and participated in the Senior Play. Note also in the 1940 class was Boris Lapping, another student named on the Memorial Plaque. He registered on 30 June 1942, 140 lbs brown eyes, black hair and 5’11”. His address is listed as 19150 Woodingham in Detroit so he did not move to Cincinnati with his parents.

News-Press Fort Myers 1945

He served with the Medical and Psychological Examining Unit #6 of the AAF’s Aviation Psychology Program. This program worked on developing a a scientific means of aircrew classification; they designed six hours of written tests and two hours of tests of psychomotor skill.

Buckingham Field in Fort Myers was a flexible gunnery training base used to train the gunners who would defend bombers. It was constructed starting in 1942 at a cost of $10 million on a total of 7,000 acres of swamp land which had to be drained with an extensive system of newly constructed canals.

His role was that of special observer. He was killed the TB-24D Liberator #42-23949 crashed on lading at the airfield.  Ten other airmen were killed in the accident: 1st Lt. James G. Baker, Pilot, 2nd Lt Jack D. Andersong, Flt Off. Thomas Wetzel, S/Sgt Robert Pelman, Cpl Stanley R. Kalenius, Cpl. Burton R. Simon, Pvt Joseph E. Hemminger, Pvt Lawrence H Huffman Jr. His death was noted in the Psychological Bulletin Vol 42, iss. 10  Dec. 1945 p 789