Assigned to 354FS, 355FG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) mission in P-51B 43-6520 engine problems, tried for home, losing height, hit by 20mm ground fire, crashed at St Quentin; Killed in Action (KIA) 4-Jun-44 MACR 5505.



Awards: AM, PH.



Harold R Burke also grew up in Danbury, Connecticut and remembered Lietenant Davis' mother Olga after the war:



"I knew Lieutenant Davis’ Mother through the church that my parents attended. She was always very kind to me and very engaging; we grew quite close."



"In 1976 I received the Eagle Scout award from the Boy Scouts of America; Scouting’s highest award. Mrs Davis, Olga, was invited and attended as my guest. During all of the time that I had known her she had never mentioned children. On this occasion, however, she mentioned that her son had also been an Eagle Scout but had been unable to fulfil his dreams. She said that she hoped and expected that I might honor her son by living my life to the fullest."



"At the time I knew nothing about her son or that she even had children. I did not know that he’d been a pilot or had been killed in action. Over the years and through conversations with others I discovered this information but still did not even know his name or any details of his death. I recall being told that he was missing in action."



"Even though Olga has been dead for 40 years I was recently thinking of her many kindnesses. I recalled how I had looked for information about her family and and had come up empty-handed."



"Recently I made another attempt and by cross-referencing information now available online I was able to discover her son’s name, date of birth and from there his service record."



"I was surprised to discover the picture you posted (UPL 27718) as I assumed he had remained MIA. This grave market is the only memorial I have found for Olga’s beloved son."



"This marker is one of thousands in France. To know that the picture was taken simply because of a strolling photographer's connection with Connecticut is odd in itself. That you would discover it and post it is even stranger. That I would happen to be seeking information on the individual buried there is even more remote. Regardless of how this came about thank you for helping me complete a journey that started 45 years ago."