George Fleming Davis (March 23, 1911 – January 6, 1945) in

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. He was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

officer and a recipient of America's highest military decoration, the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

, for actions during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early life

George F. Davis was born in

on March 23, 1911.

Navy career

Davis was appointed to the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

from the Naval Reserve in 1930 and graduated in May 1934. Ensign Davis' first duty station was the new heavy cruiser . While on that ship, he served as an aircraft gunnery observer with her embarked aviation units. From 1939 to 1941, Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Davis served as an officer of the destroyer and the fast minesweeper .

Outbreak of World War II

Following promotion to the rank of lieutenant in mid-1941 he was assigned to the battleship , which was sunk on December 7, 1941, when

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

's surprise

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

opened the

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. In January 1942, Lieutenant Davis was transferred to the light cruiser , in which he participated in operations in the

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, the hard fighting over

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...

and the Central Solomons, and the campaign to recover

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. He was promoted to lieutenant commander and commander while serving in ''Honolulu'', which he left in mid-1944. Following training in advanced surface warfare techniques, he was given command of the destroyer in late November 1944. On 6 January 1945 his ship was covering minesweeping operations in advance of the Lingayen Gulf invasion when she was attacked by four Japanese

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s. Though ''Walke'' shot down two, the third plane struck the ship, enveloping her bridge area in burning gasoline. Though horribly burned, Commander Davis remained on his feet, conned the ship, directed damage control efforts and saw to the destruction of the fourth suicide plane. Only when ''Walkes survival was assured did he relinquish his post to be taken below, where he died a short time later. For his conduct, Commander Davis was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. His body was buried at sea.

Awards and honors

His awards include:

Medal of Honor citation

Commander George F. Davis' official Medal of Honor citation is as follows: Moh right

Legacy

The destroyer , 1957–1994, was named in his honor.

References

* : {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, George Fleming 1911 births 1945 deaths United States Navy personnel killed in World War II People who died at sea Burials at sea Foreign-born Medal of Honor recipients United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit Military personnel from Manila United States Navy officers American expatriates in the Philippines