Elby and Ethel Davis

Corporal Elby W. Davis is pictured here in his World War II uniform with his wife, the former Ethel Langley. Uncle Elby was nearly thirty-seven years old when he volunteered for service on April 26, 1944. My mother remembers the family talking about how Uncle Elby couldn't stand to be home while everyone else was off fighting. So he joined the Army and served about eighteen months, being discharged on November 14, 1945. Elby saw action in the Battle of the Philippines as well as at Okinawa and was awarded two bronze stars.

While Uncle Elby was stationed at Okinawa, he visited the grave of his brother-in-law, Tom Mitchell, who was killed by Japanese machine fire on April 6, 1945.

Elby Davis was the son of James K. and Queenie Clayton Davis, and was born May 25, 1907. He died in Zion, Illinois in 1967.