Page created by: Deborah Johnson

Ed Davis enlisted in the Army in 1940 during the Great Depression at the age of 17. He had a choice of where to serve and chose Pearl Harbor, having heard glowing reports of the "beautiful girls and nice weather", a stark contrast to his upbringing in the rugged coal region of Pennsylvania. He started his enlistment in the field artillery assigned to a work detail of digging and erecting concrete gun emplacements for artillery guns close to Waikiki Beach and the base of the Punch Bowl. After graduation he was assigned to the Headquarters Battery and was trained as a signal wireman. His job in combat was to set up a forward switchboard so the forward observer could select the gun battery closest to the target.

Ed wrote: On December 7, 1941 when the Japs hit us in Schofield Barracks I found out the reason for our labor in building those gun pits. While standing outside the mess hall along with the men who had been eating breakfast with me, I got a first hand view of nine of our men being killed and fourteen wounded by enemy strafing. Many men ran out on the grass quadrangle to see what was going on. It was the first time I'd ever seen death like that. I never realized you could die so easily. It's something that can haunt you. I never forget. Some men limped, some crawled to the first aid station located beside the mess hall and close to where I was hiding behind a concrete pillar that supported the second floor balcony. I could see where blood had run down both sides of the door sill and formed a large pool on the cement floor in front of the first aid station. After many strafing passes were made by the Jap planes, the bugle sounded and we who were able ran to our barracks. Responding to our training, we shouldered our packs, filled our barracks bags with an extra blanket and uniform, drew our weapon and ammunition and ran to the motor pool. We left our dead and wounded behind for the medics to take care of. At the motor pool we quickly loaded our wire truck with communications equipment. It was at this time I saw the first of our planes airborne, flying low overhead and trailing smoke. We were the first truck to leave. We drove past Wheeler Field Air Base. It was completely engulfed in flames and smoke and the planes, hangars and barracks were in a state of complete devastation. Ships were in the harbor grouped three side-by-side, some leaning, some burning and some capsized. Oil, fire and smoke obscured by vision. We proceeded to the area we were designated to defend on the island. Once the communications were set up, firing could commence as soon as the artillery guns were in position. We proceeded to Roosevelt High School and set-up our switchboard in a locker room under the bleachers on the athletic field. I then drove up to the observation post on top of the Punch Bowl and set up the phone communication. The artillery guns soon arrived and were positioned as were the corresponding phone lines. We were ready to defend the beach against an invasion providing our supply of ammunition held out. After the guns were in position we had nothing to do but wait. I settled down near the switchboard in the locker room and made it my home for about the next six months.

Ed survived the attack on Pearl Harbor and went on to serve in Korea and 3 tours in Vietnam. "Three wars, I've been bombed, I've been shot at by machine guns, by airplanes, I've been shelled. I don't understand why I wasn't hit" he said. "I never knew when I was going to go, when it was going to hit me. I lived on the edge, there ain't no doubt about it."

He wrote "I consider my career in the army as one of the most rewarding, dedicated and adventurous careers that a man can choose in life. It brought me into a close bond of comradeship between fellow soldiers that you could never experience in civilian life. This bind is a trust where you place your life in another soldier's hands. You get a first hand glimpse of how life can be extinguished at the flick of an eye. You have to live in combat and hear the sound of death from gun fire, bombing or shell fire passing around you with the silent prayer of "Don't let them get me, Lord" on your lips to experience just how fragile life really is. There was no room for anything but trust in my fellow soldiers and faith in God that carried me through. Now that my life is coming to a close, I am waiting for those wonderful words from my Lord and Savior, "CSMO, my son". This means close station, march order. It is used in the Army Artillery to signify that the training is over for the day and we returned to base, and that I am going home".

Ed passed away on January 29, 2017 at the Armed Forces Retirement Home at the age of 96.