Medal of Honor Monday: Navy Cmdr. George F. Davis
Jan. 6, 2025 | By Katie Lange, DOD News |
Navy Cmdr. George Fleming Davis worked his way up the ranks to become one of the youngest destroyer commanders in U.S. history. During World War II, his leadership and fearlessness during a Japanese kamikaze raid kept his ship from being destroyed, even though it cost him his life. For that sacrifice, Davis earned a posthumous Medal of Honor.
Davis was born on March 23, 1911, in the Philippine capital of Manila, where his father, John, worked as a civilian master shipfitter at Naval Base Subic Bay. After a few years, the family moved to Hawaii so his father could continue his work at Pearl Harbor.
Davis was privately educated at Punahou School before graduating from McKinley High School in Honolulu. In 1930, he received an appointment to attend the Naval Academy, where he excelled in several sports. Davis graduated in May 1934 and commissioned into the Navy, serving his first tour of duty on the heavy cruiser USS Tuscaloosa as an aircraft gunnery observer.
By mid-1941, Davis had worked his way up to the rank of lieutenant and was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was sunk by the Japanese during the Pearl Harbor attacks on Dec. 7, 1941.
https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/Article/4018737/medal-of-honor-monday-navy-cmdr-george-f-davis/
