WILLIAM P. DAVIS, LT, USN

From USNA Virtual Memorial Hall
William Davis '22

Date of birth: July 15, 1898

Date of death: March 5, 1934

Age: 35

Lucky Bag

From the 1922 Lucky Bag:

1922 Davis LB.jpg

WILLIAM PHILLIPS DAVIS

Oskaloosa, Iowa

"Billy," "Savvy," "Cue-Ball," "Unique," "Old Man."

PLEBE Summer was "Bill's" happiest period as a Midshipman because, as the old saying goes, "Ignorance is bliss," and at that time "Unique" knew nothing of the trials that lay before him. As soon, however, as the books were broken out, the "old thing" wrinkled his brows and started to fight. Before he could pull sat in one subject he was under in another. It was then that he started his famous saying, "Well, I'm getting out, they've got me now." But, in spite of all this boning he managed to go out for basketball, and made the 'Varsity.

Ordinarily "Bill" is a quiet, unassuming old man, but when aroused to mirth his voice can be heard throughout the halls, like "Pappy" Kane's "Nyow make up them jackstays there, Andy," while his grotesque exhibitions of facial beauty or mimicry of Fillyloo's dancing, as sideshow attractions, are second only to those of Ringling Brothers' Greatest Show on Earth.

Basketball (4, 3, 2); Numerals (4); Class Baseball (2).

1922 Davis LB.jpg

WILLIAM PHILLIPS DAVIS

Oskaloosa, Iowa

"Billy," "Savvy," "Cue-Ball," "Unique," "Old Man."

PLEBE Summer was "Bill's" happiest period as a Midshipman because, as the old saying goes, "Ignorance is bliss," and at that time "Unique" knew nothing of the trials that lay before him. As soon, however, as the books were broken out, the "old thing" wrinkled his brows and started to fight. Before he could pull sat in one subject he was under in another. It was then that he started his famous saying, "Well, I'm getting out, they've got me now." But, in spite of all this boning he managed to go out for basketball, and made the 'Varsity.

Ordinarily "Bill" is a quiet, unassuming old man, but when aroused to mirth his voice can be heard throughout the halls, like "Pappy" Kane's "Nyow make up them jackstays there, Andy," while his grotesque exhibitions of facial beauty or mimicry of Fillyloo's dancing, as sideshow attractions, are second only to those of Ringling Brothers' Greatest Show on Earth.

Basketball (4, 3, 2); Numerals (4); Class Baseball (2).

Loss

William was lost on March 5, 1934 when the Berliner-Joyce XFJ-1 biplane he was piloting crashed into the James River (Virginia). The enlisted man aboard was also killed.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

William was captain of the football and basketball team in high school. He attended Iowa State college at Ames for a short time where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta.

On October 23, 1926, William married Isabelle (Moore) Morrisette at the Sacred Heart parish house in Norfolk, Virginia. His best man was Lieut. Comdr. John S. Farnsworth (‘15.) Her father Hugh was a navy yard inspector and Chief Master at Arms. He died in 1938.

William’s body was found in the James River on May 29, 1934, almost three months after the accident. Captain C. C. Skeeter who operated a local launch came across the body and brought it to the pier. The Navy took it to the naval operating base.

Per the Daily News, Newport News, May 29, 1934: “Lieutenant Davis leaped from the plane in his parachute when it began a nose-dive into the river, but sank with his parachute before help could reach him. It was Captain Skeeter who dragged for the ill-fated seaplane and it was his anchor which caught the plane and led navy salvage men to its recovery and that of Matt Marshall’s body which was still in the cockpit. … [William’s] Identification was made by the flier’s costume and parachute harness, decomposition having made the features unrecognizable. The body was still encased in the heavy flying suit worn to protect the pilot from the cold of the upper atmosphere. The parachute still trailed from the harness of heavy cotton straps which bound it around the aviator’s waist and shoulders. The helmet still was on the head. … When Lieutenant Davis leaped in his parachute the C. & O. tug Eureka attempted to rescue him, but he was drawn with his parachute beneath the surface before the craft could reach the spot.”

William’s father Jenkin was a chiropractor, and his mother was Annie Lee Phillips. Jenkin died in 1939, and Annie Lee in 1955. They are both buried in Forest Cemetery in Oskaloosa.

William was survived by his widow, a stepson Hubert Shelton Morrisette, age 11, his parents and his sister Anna Irene (Mrs. Adair.)

He earned his wings as naval aviator #3242 in 1924.

William is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Photographs

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.

The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.

The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.

May 1923
Ensign, USS Florida

July 1923
Ensign, USS James K. Paulding

Others at this command:
September 1923
Ensign, USS James K. Paulding
November 1923
Ensign, USS James K. Paulding

Others at this command:
January 1924
Ensign, USS James K. Paulding
March 1924
Ensign, USS James K. Paulding
May 1924
Ensign, USS James K. Paulding
July 1924
Ensign, USS James K. Paulding

Others at this command:
September 1924
Ensign, USS James K. Paulding

Others at this command:
November 1924
Ensign, USS James K. Paulding

Others at this command:
January 1925
Ensign, under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

March 1925
Ensign, under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

May 1925
Ensign, under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

January 1926
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Wyoming

Others at this command:
October 1926
Lieutenant (j.g.), staff, Aircraft Squadrons, Scouting Fleet, USS Wright

Others at this command:
January 1927
Lieutenant (j.g.), Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 6

Others at this command:
April 1927
Lieutenant (j.g.), Observation Plane Squadron (VS) 6, USS Texas

Others at or embarked at USS Texas:
October 1930
Lieutenant, USS Chester


Others at or embarked at this command:
LTjg Oscar Pate, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 9S)
LTjg Seymour Johnson '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 9S)
January 1931
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 9S, USS Chester


Others at or embarked at USS Chester:
April 1931
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 6S, USS Milwaukee
July 1931
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 6S, USS Milwaukee
October 1931
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 6S, USS Milwaukee
January 1932
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 6B, USS Milwaukee
April 1932
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 6B, USS Milwaukee
October 1932
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 6B, USS Milwaukee
January 1933
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 6B, USS Milwaukee
April 1933
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 6B, USS Milwaukee
July 1933
Lieutenant, Naval Air Station, Naval Operating Base Hampton Roads, Virginia

October 1933
Lieutenant, Naval Air Station, Naval Operating Base Hampton Roads, Virginia


Class of 1922

William is one of 27 members of the Class of 1922 on Virtual Memorial Hall.

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