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Raymond Wayne Davis papers, 1943-1999, Date acquired: 10/26/1998, bulk 1943-1945

 

Summary

Creator:
Davis, Raymond Wayne
Extent:
1.00 boxes
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Title of Item], [Date of Item], [Box and Folder number], Raymond Wayne Davis papers, Special Collections & Archives, Florida State University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida. http://purl.fcla.edu/fsu/WWII_99_0297.

Background

Scope and content:

The Raymond Wayne Davis papers are largely centered around letters Davis wrote to his sister Mildred Kingston Renwick throughout World War II. During the war, Sergeant Davis served as a machinist in the Strategic 3rd Air Depot of the Army Air Force as well as serving in the infantry as a part of the Third Army, 90th Division, 358th Infantry, Company C. Davis served in England, France, Germany, and Czechoslovakia. His papers also include postwar division newsletters, an oral history interview, a veteran's questionnaire, discharge certificate, and photographs.

Biographical / historical:

Raymond Wayne Davis was born in Galatia, Illinois on January 31, 1924, to a family of 8 on a large farm. He worked at Curtis Wright Aircraft in the tool and die department after high school. When the war broke, he initially wanted to join the Coast Guard as he knew he would likely be drafted. He was inducted in February 1943 at Jefferson Barracks in Missouri and was assigned to the Army Air Force with the 3rd Strategic Air Depot Group. He trained at Miami Beach, Florida and at Chanute Field, Illinois before being sent over to England in 1943.

For the majority of the war, Davis was stationed at a Royal Airforce Base in East Anglia at Watton, England. He was then transferred to the Third Army, 90th Division, 358th Infantry, Company C as a machinist. He aided at the Battle of the Bulge, liberated a Polish prisoner of war camp, as well as Flossenburg, took Mainz, Germany, Luxembourg, and was stationed in Czechoslovakia. While in Czechoslovakia, Davis contracted hepatitis and was sent to Rheims, France to recover. Once Davis was healthy he rejoined his company. He was preparing to go to Japan when the atomic bomb was dropped and therefore was discharged at Camp Grant, Illinois on January 12, 1946.

Soon after he married Janet L. Schiller with whom he had two sons. They moved to Tallahassee, Florida where he worked for the United States Department of Labor. Davis was active in military reunions. Raymond Wayne Davis passed away on April 6, 2009, at the age of 85.

Acquisition information:

Mildred L. Renwick

Donated.

Custodial history:

Transferred from the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience to FSU Libraries Special Collections & Archives in July 2022.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open to all researchers.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to quote, publish, broadcast or otherwise reproduce from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean for Special Collections & Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Florida State University Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Title of Item], [Date of Item], [Box and Folder number], Raymond Wayne Davis papers, Special Collections & Archives, Florida State University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida. http://purl.fcla.edu/fsu/WWII_99_0297.

Location of this collection:
116 Honors Way
Tallahassee
FL
32306-2047
USA