2. Major John Tyler Davis
(1) (photo)
was born on 16 Mar 1915 in Rockwood, TN. He was educated Engineering in Sep
1933 in Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA. He was educated Military Education between
1935 and 1939 in West Point, NY. He died on 8 Jan 1945 in Belgium, Europe Battle
of the Bulge, WWII.(2) page 412-413
Patton had been wrong. The Germans were gathering in force. Miley, entering
combat for the first time, had been forced by higher authority to attack blindly
in foul weather and too hastily and had gotten a very bloody nose. In his diary,
Patton later transformed this blunder into a triumph, writing: "they .
. . ran right into the flank of a German attack. Had this not happened things
[at Bastogne] could have been critical. As it was, we stopped the attack in
its tracks. Historians will claim that such perfect timing was a stroke of genius
. . . [but] I had no idea the Germans were attacking."
Troy Middleton sent word for Miley to regroup, lick his wounds and prepare for
another try. His second attack jumped off on January 7. This time he launched
it with three regiments, line abreatst. Stubbs's 193rd Glider on the right (abutting
teh 101); Coutts's 513 paratroopers in the center; Pierce's 194th Glider on the
left. the key objective was the high ground at the town of Flammierge. Miley
recalled: "The situation had not changed. The enemy ws still out there--in
the positions we had failed to take from him. The weather was as forbidding
as ever. Ther was almost no visibility and no chance of air support. You still
could not observe artillery fire. Third Army still insisted there was nothing
in front of us."
The two flanking glider regiments encountered heavy resistance and were stopped
in their tracks and hit hard. the 194, Miley said suffered "terrific"
casualties. But Coutts's 513, in the center, was not to be denied. The 513
paratroopers drove ahead hell-for-leather toward Flammierge. In a fine piece
of work, Coutts's 3rd Battalion, commanded by Edward F. Kent, took the town,
and Coutts hurriedly brought up his other two battalions, Taylor's 1st and Miller's
2nd. As they were digging in, Miley decided to reinforce Coutts with the 3rd
Battalion of Raff's 507 (still in reserve), commanded by John T. Davis.
The next morning, the Germans counterattacked with, Miley recalled, "everything
they had," including tanks and flamethowers. The weather was still "terrible."
The reinforced 513 took "terrible" losses. Taylor's 1st and Miller's
2nd battalions, Miley recalled, were "almost annihilated." They held
until their ammo was spent; then the few survivors began withdrawing. Later
Miley ordered all units to fall back. In this bloody action, appropriatedly
called "Dead Man's Ridge," the 507's 3rd Battalion commander, John
Davis, was killed, temporatily replaced by Allen Taylor and permanently by Roy
Creek.
He was buried in 1949 in West Point, NY. He was a Military US Army Officer
May 1939 - Jan 1945 in WW II.(3) pages
232-233
The battalioin commanders of the 507, like those of the 508, were widely scattered
and unable to find their men and organize them into cohesive fighting units.
None came down near Millett and his force. Edwin J. Ostberg, a West Pointer,
commanding 1st Battalion, landed near Gavin's group. He made contact with 507's
exec, Arthur A. Maloney. They rounded up a mixed group of about a hundred fifty
men from teh 507 and 508 and in time linked up with Gavin. William A. Kuhn,
commanding the 3rd Battalion, was wildly misdropped near Fresville, where Ekman
had landed. Kuhn was compelled to bail out at high speed. He later reported
that he had never ha such a "hard" parachute opening. The shock dislocated
his collarbone, and as soon as it became possible, he was evacuated to England,
where he recovered. He was temporarily replaced in comand of the 3rd Battalion
by his exec, West Pointer John T. Davis.
Note: About one quarter of Kuhn's 3rd Battalion--some one hundred sixty men--
got the worst drop in NEPTUNE. Ten errant planes of the veteran 61 Group dumped
them eighteen miles southeast of the DZ near Isigny, where most were promptly
overwhelmed and captured.
pages 293-294
There were also severe losses in the 507. On July 5, Louis Levy was killed and
John W. Marr was wounded. On July 7, 3rd Battalion commander Art Maloney was
severely wounded and evacuated, and did not return to the division. His battalion
exec, John T. Davis, replaced him. (Two years later Maloney retired, disabled,
from the Army.) That same day, the 1st Battalion commander, Ben Pearson, was
also wounded, but stayed at his post. Since D day, the 507 had lost nearly half
its strength (840 men) killed, wounded, captured or missing, and four of its
five original commanders: Milett (captured); Ostberg (severely injured); wounded,
captured or (severly injured); Kuhn (injured in drop); and now Maloney. For
a time, the lone survivor of the original leaders in Normandy was the "mouse"
who was a "terror in combat," Charles Timmes, but William Kuhn would
soon rejoin to become regimental exec. He was educated BS Engineering Sep 1935
- May 1939 in West Point, NY. He was married to Maria Louisa Jacqueline Dominguez
Morello y Mathews on 14 Jun 1939 in West Point, NY.
3.
Maria Louisa Jacqueline Dominguez Morello y Mathews
(photo) was born on 19 Jul 1922 in New York City,
NY. She was christened on 25 Mar 1929 in Our Lady of Esperanza; RC Church; Manhattan,
NY, NY. Born at St. Ann's Hospital Manhattan, NY, NY Children were:
1 i.
John Tyler Dominguez Davis.
ii. Ann
Tyler Davis was born on 7 May 1943 in Harriman, TN.
iii.
Paul Ashley Davis was born on 13 Jun 1944 in New York City, NY.