Air Force to honor longtime pilot with rare funeral flyover
Grady Davenport survived 104 combat flying missions in WWII, and another 80 during Vietnam
September 25, 2015
Air Force to honor longtime pilot with rare funeral flyover
U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Justyn M. Freeman
By Meg Jones
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Grady Davenport flew P-47 Thunderbolts in the skies over Europe during World War II and F-100 Super Sabres over Vietnam.
He flew fighter jets as they evolved from the F-86 to F-106, cargo planes like the C-47 and C-54, and the B-25 Mitchell bomber.
But the current U.S. Air Force jet, the F-16?
He retired after three decades of service before getting a chance to fly F-16s. Perhaps it's fitting, then, that an F-16 will perform a flyover at Davenport's funeral Friday morning at the War Memorial in Milwaukee.
The flyover is a rare honor for veterans and accorded to only a select few, such as three- and four-star generals, Medal of Honor recipients, prisoners of war, and aviators with at least one aerial victory. Davenport, who retired as an Air Force lieutenant colonel in 1972, didn't qualify for those reasons -- but he did for exceptional service as an aviator with almost 200 combat missions in his flight logs.
Davenport survived 104 combat missions during World War II and another 80 combat missions in Vietnam, earning two Distinguished Flying Crosses and numerous other medals.
Davenport died Sept. 12 in Milwaukee following a stroke at 94.
"He was very soft-spoken, a quiet gentleman. He did not epitomize the Tom Cruise 'Top Gun' bravado," said his stepson Roy E. Wagner. "It wasn't that he didn't want to talk about his military career. He just didn't bring it up unless you asked."
Wagner's parents lived in the same Florida retirement community as Davenport and his wife. When Wagner's father and Davenport's wife died within a month of each other, Davenport and Wagner's mother, Rusty, grew close and married two years later in 1998. Davenport was the last of his blood line -- an only child who lost his only child, his daughter Ellen, to a drunken driver.
Davenport and his wife moved to an assisted living facility in Milwaukee last year to be close to Wagner.
"I sat next to him on his last flight. As the plane was taking off he was telling me exactly which flap was doing what. Even at 93," said Wagner.
Born in Alabama, Davenport grew up in Chattanooga, Tenn., and enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1943 when he was 22. He was assigned to the 57th Fighter Group in Italy and after just two days of training on the P-47, he flew 31 missions in April 1944, according to his flight log. He received his first Distinguished Flying Cross for an August 1944 raid that destroyed communications lines, bridge, trains and a rail yard.
He returned to the U.S. after 104 combat missions, and trained pilots. After World War II, he married and remained in the military, serving in Europe and Asia. While stationed in Pakistan to help that country create an air force, Davenport was assigned to the same air base in Peshawar that U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers took off from in May 1960 before being shot down by the Soviets. Later, while stationed in California, Davenport was scrambled to intercept Soviet MiG fighter jets flying near Alaska. He told Wagner his crew held up pictures from American girlie magazines as they flew close to the Soviet aviators.
Davenport flew 80 combat missions in Vietnam and earned his second Distinguished Flying Cross in 1968 for dropping bombs with extreme accuracy despite bad weather, heavy ground fire and low fuel, and escorting a damaged plane to safety.
After retiring in Florida, Davenport golfed, traveled and attended military reunions. He never gave up his military bearing -- tucked-in shirts, sharply creased slacks -- and stayed in shape with 50 pushups and a two-mile run every day until his late 80s, when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He had helped load Agent Orange chemicals on planes in Vietnam. The debilitating effects of Parkinson's robbed Davenport of his mobility and speech, and he was nearly deaf from spending so much time in noisy plane cockpits.
Wagner wasn't sure how to arrange a flyover for his stepfather, but after one call to the Milwaukee County veterans office, he got in touch with Air Force mortuary affairs, which quickly approved the request. But then Wagner had to find a plane and pilot. Unsure how to do that, he found several fighter jet units, including the Wisconsin Air National Guard's 115th Fighter Wing in Madison, through the Internet. He sent emails with Davenport's biography.
"I was pleasantly surprised at the level of responsiveness. I got phone calls and emails within hours," said Wagner, adding that everyone told him they would be honored to celebrate Davenport's service.
An F-16 pilot based at Truax Field in Madison with the Wisconsin Air National Guard will perform the flyby.
"The 115th Fighter Wing is honored to be a part of the remembrance of Lt. Col. Davenport's impressive military career and pay tribute to the sacrifices he made fighting for our country in World War II and Vietnam," said Capt. Kristin Boustany, public affairs officer.
A pilot in the 115th talked to Wagner on Tuesday to coordinate timing, direction and other details. They settled on an east-to-west flight path over the War Memorial half an hour after the service starts at 11:30 a.m.
"I just wanted to make sure his service and his memory were somehow recognized. I could not think of a better way than to go out with full military honors," said Wagner. "That the Air Force stepped up to pay tribute to one of their colleagues who served 30 years with an extraordinary amount of combat missions, I'm so thankful they had the time and the resources."
