Ray Ellsworth Davis
MilitaryRay Davis was Ball Turret gunner on B-17 #42-37734 “Cuddle Cat”, shot down over Belgium on the 5 January 1944 mission to Elberfeld, Germany. Evaded capture with the help of Belgian citizens. Hidden in Marèdret, Surice, Vodelée, Soulme, and finally in a secret camp at Porcheresse in the Belgian Ardennes, in the frame of Operation MARATHON. Liberated there by US troops in September 1944. Evaded (EVD). See the story of his evasion at http://www.evasioncomete.be/fdavisre.html
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 95th Bomb Group 336th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 12159370
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 95th Bomb Group 336th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-677674
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 95th Bomb Group 336th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-808014
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 95th Bomb Group 336th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-682857
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 95th Bomb Group 336th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 35514655
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: waist gunner/Assistant Radio Operator
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Cuddle Cat
- Unit: 95th Bomb Group 336th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 5 January 1944
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Alpoca, Wyoming County, West Virginia, United States | 31 May 1924 | |
Other Evaded capture |
Belgium | 5 January 1944 - 13 September 1944 | with the help of Belgian citizens and members of the Belgian COMET evasion network |
Died |
16 December 1976 | Trinity, Webster County, West Virginia | |
Alpoca, West Virginia | |||
Enlisted |
|||
Buried |
Ray Davis rests at the Trinity Cemetery in Trinity, Virginia |
Revisions
MACR 1686
NARA WWII Enlistment records
Research for his page at www.evasioncomete.org (Comète archives)
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 1686 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database