52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks (2019-47)
On March 6, 1943 Joseph William Davidson was told to report for duty in the US Army Air Corps. |
| Digital Picture of a picture in a printed Family History photo scrapbook of the "Davidson Family 1819-1991" in the possession of Edward Olsen. © Edward R. Olsen 11.18.2019 |
Sometime in 1942, Joe's draft exemption expired. His draft classification was 1A: Acceptable for military service. Knowing that he was likely to be drafted, he voluntarily enlisted in the US Army Air Corps. The Air Corps was one of the combat arms of the Army until 1947, when it became the Air Force.
From March 1943 to sometime before Christmas, Joe moved 7 times around the country for basic training, flight school and other various trainings. He started off leaving Richmond, VA and finally ending up at McClellan base in Sacramento, CA. At this time he was assigned to the 159th AACS Squadron (Army Airways Communication System). The squadron was made up of radio operators, control tower operators and teletype operators.
On February 12, 1944 the unit left McClellan Base in Sacramento and moved to Camp Anza outside of Los Angeles to prepare to ship out. On February 27, 1944 over 7000 troops aboard the USS George Washington left the port of Los Angeles heading to parts unknown to the soldiers.
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| U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph |
On the way to Bombay, India, the ship docked for three days in Melbourne, Australia. They spent a total of 36 days on the ship when they finally docked in Bombay (now called Mumbai.) While in Bombay the squadron was housed at a British compound. In 1944, India was still a British colony. On April 23, 1944 the squadron boarded a train for a 5 day trip across India to Kharagpur. Kharagpur was where the 20th Bomber Command was located. This was where B-29's were based to fly over China and bomb the Japanese in the Pacific Theatre.
Operation Matterhorn was the name for the B-29 Superfortress offensive against the Empire of Japan from airfields in China. The operation name comes from the Matterhorn, a mountain int the Alps range that is considered particularly difficult to climb. The headquarters of the 20th Bomber Command was established at Kharagpur India on March 28, 1944. So Joe and his squadron arrived very close to the establishment of the base, arriving almost a month later. The first B-29 bombing raid from India took place on June 5, 1944 on Burma. A day later on June 6, 1944 the Allies launched the D-Day attack in France.
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| B-29 Superfortress in Flight. Picture in public domain. https://media.defense.gov/2009/Jun/25/2000536926/-1/-1/0/090625-F-1234K-159.JPG. |
By March 1945 the Japanese were being defeated in China. So the base was moved from India to China. Traveling from March 17 to April 4, 1945, Joe arrived in Hsinching, China where he finished out his service during World War II.
On May 8, 1945 Germany surrendered. On August 15, 1945 Japan surrendered. The war was over.
By October 1945, Joe had enough points earned to be qualified for discharge. His first stop on the long journey home was Kunming, China. He had 6 more stops over the next 3 months.
Finally on the morning of December 10, 1945 he arrived at the home of his mother-in-law Delphia Olivia Epps Rogers, in Florence, SC, to be with his wife, Sally and their first born child whom he had never met.
How I'm related to Joseph William Davidson
Joseph William Davidson = Sarah Elizabeth Rogers Davidson
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Father-in-law = Mother-in-law
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Me = Wife
Joseph William Davidson = Sarah Elizabeth Rogers Davidson
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Father-in-law = Mother-in-law
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Me = Wife
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a series of weekly prompts to get you to think about an ancestor and share something about them. The weekly prompt is provided by www.amyjohnsoncrow.com. The prompt for the week of November 18, 2019 is "Soldier."
References:
Joseph William Davidson, Autobiography, in the possession of various family members.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_Training_and_Service_Act_of_1940#Class_I:_Acceptable_for_military_service
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twentieth_Air_Force#World_War_II_operations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twentieth_Air_Force#World_War_II_operations
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