Paul Davison Was a WWII Hero That Helped Preserve Our Freedom

Paul Davison was born in Rushville, Rush County, Indiana on January 5, 1921. From the 1930 U.S. Census, we learn that Paul’s father, also Paul, 30, worked as an gas company agent. His mother, Ruby, 29, had two children living at home at this time; Juanita, 6 and Paul, 9 years old. They all lived in Rushville.

Paul graduated from Rushville High School and attended Inidiana University for two years, excelling in athletics. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on September 29, 1941 at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana. He began as an air cadet with an Army enlisted service number of 15081899. His recorded his height was five feet nine inches tall and weighed 164 pounds.

After basic training, he was sent to flight training school specializing in the C-47 Dakota aircraft. Upon completion of training, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant. Davison was then given an officer’s service number of O-659272.

Davison served as a a pilot in England in the invasion of North Africa, Sciily and Italy, including work in the Balkans and Middle East. Paul was assigned to the 60th Troop Carrier Group, the 12th Troop Carrier Squadron. This squadron, flying C-47 Dakota planes, supported the Italian Campaign during balance of 1944 supporting partisans in the Balkans. Its unarmed aircraft flew at night over uncharted territory, landing at small unprepared airfields to provide guns, ammunition, clothing, medical supplies, gasoline, and mail to the partisans. It even carried jeeps and mules as cargo. On return trips it evacuated wounded partisans, evadees and escaped prisoners. These operations earned the squadron the Distinguished Unit Citation. It also dropped paratroopers at Megava, Greece in October 1944 and propaganda leaflets in the Balkans in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations until end of combat in Europe, May, 1945.

Davison was second in command of the 12th Troop Carrier Squadron in Italy. He had a record of flying 71 missions at night in addition to many day time flights..

One of these missions on September 9, 1944, Captain Paul Davison, was the pilot of a C-47 that crashed into a mountain when both engines quit. The official report states both engines failed on a C47, flying in bad weather, whilst on a photographic reconnaissance mission over central Greece. The aircraft crashed into the side of a mountain near the hamlet of Stevenikon, Greece. Members of the crew, assigned to the 12th Troop Carrier Squadron (TCS) based in Brindisi, Sicily were killed. As were several members of both SOE Force 133 and their counterparts from the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The fire was so intense from the crash, none of the people on board could be identified. Because of that, the remains of the 12 military personnel were interred at a common grave in Arlington. Those lost on board were all listed on a large stone erected at the Arlington National Cemetery, Section 2 Grave 3435-F2 :

United States - Paul E Davison Jr Captain, Pilot; Joseph C Volk 2nd Lt., Co-Pilot; Peter Gingereski Staff Sergeant, Radio Operator; Edward L Quegan Captain, Navigator; Linn M Farish Major, OSS and Theron E Hoxsie Corporal, Flight Engineer.

Great Britain - C R Forbes-Harriss MBE Major, SOE; A Poberaj AC2, Air Dispatacher; E H Hiscocks, Lt Col, SOE; K W C Thomas Corporal, SOE and G Watson Captain, SOE.

South Africa - V Potgieter Lt., SOE

Accident September 10, 1944

Circumstantial evidence indicates it was not just a photographic mission. First, the C-47 was not used for such missions. Secondly, several high ranking SOE and OSS officers were on board, indicating a far more important task.

Colonel Farish, one of those killed on the C-47, was a key figure in aiding Tito’s partisan fighters in Yugoslavia. They and the other group of partisans, the Chetniks used gorilla tactics against the Germans. Frustrated by the fighting between the two groups, Farish concentrated on rescuing down allied flyers.

The other evidence that Farish and the other SS staff were involved in fighting the Germans was that the date of September 9, 1944 was the first day of operations that culminated in the 2nd British Expedition to Greece on October 12-16. Most of the preparation work was undertaken by special forces and SOE Force 133. SOE and the Greek resistance had been told to harass the withdrawing Germans as much as possible. It can't be a coincidence then that a team of SOE was flying in on the very same day.

Most likely these high ranking SOE officers were part of the harassment and preparation force getting ready for the invasion when their plane unfortunately crashed. The resulting fire made individual identification impossible. As the majority of the victims were American, they were all laid to rest in the US National Military Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. A memorial stone was place at Section 2 Grave 3435-F2 on May 22, 1951. He was awarded a Purple Heart Posthumously.

In addition, Davison’s family placed a memorial stone at the East Hill Cemetery in Rushville, Rush County, Indiana. The carved inscription reads: “DAVISON, IN MEMORY OF, CAPT PAUL E DAVISON JR., 1921 - 1944, 12TH SQDN 60TH T.C. GROUP U.S. ARMY AIR CORPS, KILLED IN ACTION OVER GREECE SEPT. 10, 1944.”

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

This story is part of the Stories Behind

the Stars project ( www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort

of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII here on

Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart

phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan

the fallen’s name and read his/her story.

Resources:

1930 & 1940 U.S. Census

U.S., Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Unaccounted-for Remains, Group B (Unrecoverable)

U.S., World War II and Korean Conflict Veterans Interred Overseas

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14467352/paul-erwin-davison

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/60605226/paul-erwin-davison https://yamm.finance/wiki/12th_Troop_Carrier_Squadron.html

https://yamm.finance/wiki/60th_Troop_Carrier_Group.html

http://therugbyhistorysociety.co.uk/farrish.html

http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/soe-oss-killed-greece-9-september-1944.52632/

https://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/24/2001330078/-1/-1/0/AFD-100924-043.pdf

https://www.nps.gov/articles/oss-in-action-the-mediterranean-and-european-theaters.htm