More Photos of William Davis

Les Best sent along some additional photos this past week. These are the last he has, he reports, but some other family members have more, and they are working on getting them all together to send to the site. Thank you, Les!

"Bob Kingston and Audrey Malbrey" - probably family friends.

Private William J. Davis - this picture was taken in North Carolina, late in 1942 or early 1943.

Happy Marines taking a dip in the pool - possibly at Camp Pendleton, 1943.

"Don" and "Ray." Date and location unknown. I am not sure who Don is, but Ray might be Raymond E. Davis, who was wounded by a shell fragment during the battle of Namur. Ray Davis was the company carpenter, and as such was a member of Company Headquarters, like Bill Davis.

(Company A had five Davis' serving with them all at once; there were two men named Raymond Davis, who were officially distinguished by being called Raymond and Ray.)

"Unknown" - this is almost certainly Raymond Davis again.

Another unknown.

Field Music Hal Fritz, Bill Davis, and Robert Larson.
Bill Davis squinting in the sun outside a tent.

The top NCOs of Company A share a beer. Walter Russell and Thomas Drake received commissions in the fall of 1944 and fought through Iwo Jima as second lieutenants; Stephen Vinczi was the senior NCO of the company by the end of the war.

Bill Davis was wounded in action during the battle of Saipan. He is shown here receiving his Purple Heart and a handshake from the commander of the 24th Marines, Colonel Walter Jordan.


These are two shots of the remnants of the company Headquarters section after the battle of Iwo Jima.


BACK ROW: Edward "Red" Collins, Bill Davis, Roy I. Wood (company commander), William Comer, Stephen Vinczi
MIDDLE ROW: Roy G. Alford, James E. McAdams, Willard Roberts, Henry Hufnagle, Maurice Rosenthal
FRONT ROW: Hal Fritz, George "Flat Feet" Hall, Henry Purdy, Raymond VanDam, Peter Markovitch

NOTE: Some of the men pictured here were previously believed to have left the company prior to Iwo Jima and do not appear on the company's muster rolls. The reason for their inclusion here is unknown, though they may have rejoined the company following the battle, or even during the fighting as casualties took their toll. Interpreting wartime records is a difficult task at best!

New Pictures!

Received an email last night from Leslie Best, whose wife is the daughter of Sergeant William J. Davis of Company A. Bill Davis was the company clerk, and served with the unit through the war despite being wounded on Saipan. Les reports that the family recently found Bill's photo album, along with other mementos like ribbons and dog tags.

He then proceeded to blow my little mind with some of the pictures from that album.


An oft-reproduced image of the company on Iwo Jima - this one notable because of the neatly written (and censor-approved) key on the back.

Bill Davis sits outside the First Sergeant's office, presumably in the spring of 1944. Company A did not have anyone in the rank of First Sergeant at that time, though T/Sgt Arnold Richardson was referred to in a letter from Captain Schechter as "First Sergeant Richardson" - so he may have filled that role. As company clerk, Davis spent a good amount of his time in this tent.

Technical Sergeant Arnold R. Richardson at Camp Maui. Richardson was killed on July 5, 1944, trying to provide covering fire for Phil Wood's rescue mission.

TOJO! This little pooch originally belonged to a Japanese soldier stationed on Roi-Namur. One Marine looking for an unusual souvenir smuggled Tojo aboard ship and returned him to Camp Maui. Since he's tied up outside Captain Schechter's tent, he may have been the unofficial company mascot.


(Another picture of Tojo, from Al Perry's website. From left, Al, Bob Fleishauer, Bob Tierney.)

And there's Phil himself, standing with Kenneth Shea and Tom Johnson of the mortar section. Kimonos were evidently popular souvenirs; Phil had one that he took to wearing as a dressing gown.