Lawrence E. Davis
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Coast Guard
Lawrence Edward Davis
Mr. Davis served in World War II. He served with the Merchant Marines from May 20, 1944, and he was assigned to the 5th Fleet in the South Pacific. Mr. Davis was discharged on May 21, 1946. He held the rank of Refrigeration Engineer. Mr. Davis was born in 1926 in Duluth, Minnesota, and he is the son of Herbert and Rose Davis. He graduated with a GED.
Source: Veterans’ Memorial Hall veteran history form, veteran’s account follows:
“Lawrence E. Davis entered the Merchant Marines on April 1, 1944. He served aboard the Escanaba Victory (AF 57 Regulus), White River, Howell Lykes, Big Bend, Westminster Victory and the John Hoyt, as an oiler. He was also assigned to man the 3-inch, 50-caliber bow gun and the 20-millimeter machine guns in the Pacific Theater.
“Our ship was scheduled to be a reserve, but so many were sunk ahead of us that we were ordered in to unload (D-plus-Two) at White Sands, the beach south of Tacloban. Spent 50 days unloading. As the Japs started their Kamikaze attacks, we changed anchorages every night to confuse their observer/photographers. We also had to go out the Samara Straights to ride out a typhoon during those 50 days.”
Source: Hometown Heroes: The Saint Louis County World War II Project, page 65.
