PDA

View Full Version : Davis receives medal 52 years later



thedrifter
02-14-05, 06:26 AM
Davis receives medal 52 years later


By Justin Willett
Staff writer

Sanford man was honored Friday with the Distinguished Flying Cross for helping rescue a downed fighter pilot behind enemy lines more than 50 years ago.

Elmer Davis was a 19-year-old Air Force medic when he volunteered to join helicopter pilot Owen Clark on a rescue mission near Chongdan, North Korea, on Nov. 13, 1952.

Davis, now 71, never forgot the mission but went on with his life.

He left the Air Force after his 3-year commitment and joined the Army as an infantryman. He did three tours in Vietnam during his 18-year Army career and retired as a sergeant first class.

It wasn't until exactly 51 years after the harrowing helicopter rescue in North Korea that Davis began the journey that led to his recognition Friday.

Davis said he was searching the Internet in November 2003 for items about his Air Force unit, the 3rd Air Sea Rescue Squadron, when he came across a message that was posted on koreanwar.org. It was titled, "Searching for Korean medic, Elmer Davis."

Owen Clark's stepson, Danny Mize, posted the message.

"I'm trying to help my stepfather, Owen Clark, locate a medic who flew with him on a rescue mission in North Korea in November of 1952," Mize wrote.

"Owen and Elmer rescued a downed pilot, Quinn Fuller. We recently arranged a reunion between Owen and Quinn, but we'd sure like to complete the picture by contacting Elmer Davis."

The picture was completed Friday as the three men got together at Pope Air Force Base and Davis received his award.

Fuller and Clark had received bronze stars for the rescue. Davis had received nothing.

Air Force Gen. John W. Handy, commander of the U.S. Transportation and Air Mobility commands, presented Davis with the Distinguished Flying Cross, saying it is better late than never.

"This might have gone lost to history," Handy said. "Thank goodness we're able to stand here and recognize this incredible feat of heroism.

"A Distinguished Flying Cross is a small and humble way of recognizing what you did all those years ago."


Ready volunteer

Davis wasn't even on duty when he volunteered for the 1952 rescue mission. An Air Force captain came into his Quonset hut and said he needed a medic.

Davis remembers looking at the medic on duty and getting a blank stare. "So I said, 'Yes, sir. I'll do it'" Davis said.

Davis said he jumped up and bounded out of the hut. The captain stopped him.

"This is going to be a hot one," the captain said. "Where is your carbine?"

Davis grabbed a weapon from the on-duty medic and wondered what he'd gotten himself into.

"I thought, 'Oh boy. Nice going, buddy.'" Davis said.

Meanwhile, Quinn Fuller, then 22, was hiding in rice paddies, waiting for the H-5 Dragonfly helicopter to appear.

Handy said helicopter rescues behind enemy lines were rare in those days. It was thought to be too dangerous, he said.

Fuller, now 74, had been flying a napalm run in an F-84 when his plane was shot and disabled. The right wing was on fire, and the left wing was blown off. It was his first combat mission.

"Things started out that day bad and continued bad," Fuller said.

The only bright spot was that Clark and Davis were on the way. Fuller saw them when they were about a mile away.

Davis said he and Owen were taking heavy fire as they approached Fuller's position.

Clark lowered the chopper and released the hoist. Fuller grabbed it - incorrectly in his rush - and a winch lifted him to the helicopter. Davis was lying down halfway out of the chopper, waiting to haul Fuller inside.

"As soon as he got up there, I grabbed ahold of his jacket," Davis said.

Just then the winch stopped.

As bullets whizzed by, Clark dropped the helicopter back to the ground, and Davis yanked Fuller in by his jacket.

"I am convinced to this day that if I'd fallen out of that chopper, there'd be two of us dead," Fuller said.

The Air Force, 52 years later, has recognized the role Davis played, not only in that rescue but in the development of the helicopter rescue mission.

"By this successful rescue, Sergeant Davis helped prove the future value of the helicopter for rescue use in war and peace," Davis' citation reads.

Davis is quick to point out that he couldn't have done it without the expert flying of Clark. He said he's just glad it's over.

"I didn't seek this out," Davis said. "I knew there was an award involved. I just wondered why I never got it.

"The only thing, looking back, that I would have done differently is get out of the helicopter and give (the enemy) a one-finger salute."

Staff writer Justin Willett can be reached at willettj@fayettevillenc.com or 323-4848, ext. 370.


Ellie

thedrifter
05-31-05, 09:10 AM
Norwalk honors its veterans at parade

By Brian Lockhart
Staff Writer

Published May 31 2005


NORWALK -- When he returned home in 1954 from Korea, Marine George Roy was greeted by his girlfriend, Gail, now his wife of 51 years.

Yesterday morning, Gail Roy picked up the elderly soldier on the Norwalk Green after his ride in the city's Memorial Day parade.

"Too many of our guys couldn't walk any more," said George Roy, who turns 75 this week, acknowledging the frailty that keeps aging veterans such as himself from participating.

But with the help of his spouse, a cane and a donated car, Roy made it through the march from the waterfront Veterans Memorial Park to the green near Norwalk City Hall.

"It's so important (for) all of our fellow Marines that died," Roy said. "I can't say any more."

"It's too emotional," Gail Roy said.

A few blocks down East Avenue, a much younger military family watched the parade finale.

Isaac Spearman Jr., who graduates next year from Norwalk High School's Air Force ROTC program, just finished marching and stood proudly alongside his parents in his crisp blue uniform.

"I'm really excited," Spearman said of his long-sought career as a pilot. "I want to travel, I want to get to see places. And it will help me build my leadership skills."

For Spearman's mother, Rose, his enthusiasm is bittersweet.

"I'm so proud of my son. I think he's going to be a good cadet," she said. "I am a little nervous. With everything going on -- it's kind of an uneasy feeling. I'm not sure I'm ready to let my 17-year-old go off into the world and protect the country."

Under blue skies, good-sized crowds lined the parade route to cheer on Roy, Spearman and other soldiers, remember those who sacrificed their lives and honor those on duty.

Nataly Monsalve, 11, was one of several students from Nathan Hale Middle School carrying poster-sized photos of soldiers serving in Iraq who have been recipients of the school's "Adopt-a-Platoon" care-package program.

"They fought for us and I thought it was really good to stand in their name," Nataly said.

More than one person mentioned yesterday's impressive turnout.

"This is big," said Louis Acunzo, who, as a 25-year-old infantryman in the 4th Infantry Division of the 1st Army, landed at Utah Beach during the D-Day invasion of June 6, 1944.

A judicial marshal at state Superior Court in Norwalk, Acunzo, 87, rode the parade route in a convertible driven by Town Clerk Andrew Garfunkel.

"Right out of the service, I marched," Acunzo said, recalling past Memorial Days. "It's part of my life. It's an honor -- a great honor -- to be in the parade."

Led by Grand Marshal Terry Rooney, who served in the Navy during the Korean War, the event included the U.S. Marine Corps Band and city, regional and out-of-state veterans' organizations.

Maryland resident Dave Lucas, 78, participated dressed in Navy whites as part of the Battleship Missouri's color guard, which travels to parades and other patriotic events across the country.

"I'm an old flag waver," said Lucas, who enlisted just after World War II and served for three years. "I tell ya, when you're marching up there, hearing people say 'thank you,' applauding and everything, it's really worth it all."

There were plenty of school bands, community groups such as the Knights of Columbus and Pet Animal Welfare Society, and representatives of the police, fire and public works departments.

As the parade wound down, non-basketball fans and newcomers to Norwalk might have been puzzled by the site of the 57-year-old man in the green uniform, tossing and twirling a baton in front of the West Rocks Middle School band.

Norwalk native and former Houston Rockets star Calvin Murphy initially wanted to perform with the band of his alma mater, Norwalk High School.

He was unable to obtain permission late last week, however, because the school's principal is away in Japan. So Murphy approached West Rocks, which he also attended, and received the principal's permission to perform his twirling routine.

Sounding somewhat chastened by a weekend news report of his disappointment with Norwalk High School, an enthusiastic Murphy, warming up in Veterans Park before the start of the parade, said he was just happy to be participating in some capacity.

"This is about honoring the vets today," Murphy said.


Ellie