Raymond Wayne Davis papers
Scope and Contents
The Raymond Wayne Davis papers are largely centered around letters Davis wrote to his sister Mildred Kingston Renwick throughout World War II. During the war, Sergeant Davis served as a machinist in the Strategic 3rd Air Depot of the Army Air Force as well as serving in the infantry as a part of the Third Army, 90th Division, 358th Infantry, Company C. Davis served in England, France, Germany, and Czechoslovakia. His papers also include postwar division newsletters, an oral history interview, a veteran's questionnaire, discharge certificate, and photographs.
Dates
- Created: 1943-1999
- Other: Majority of material found in 1943-1945
- Other: Date acquired: 10/26/1998
Creator
- Davis, Raymond Wayne (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open to all researchers.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to quote, publish, broadcast or otherwise reproduce from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean for Special Collections & Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Florida State University Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
Biographical or Historical Information
Raymond Wayne Davis was born in Galatia, Illinois on January 31, 1924, to a family of 8 on a large farm. He worked at Curtis Wright Aircraft in the tool and die department after high school. When the war broke, he initially wanted to join the Coast Guard as he knew he would likely be drafted. He was inducted in February 1943 at Jefferson Barracks in Missouri and was assigned to the Army Air Force with the 3rd Strategic Air Depot Group. He trained at Miami Beach, Florida and at Chanute Field, Illinois before being sent over to England in 1943.
For the majority of the war, Davis was stationed at a Royal Airforce Base in East Anglia at Watton, England. He was then transferred to the Third Army, 90th Division, 358th Infantry, Company C as a machinist. He aided at the Battle of the Bulge, liberated a Polish prisoner of war camp, as well as Flossenburg, took Mainz, Germany, Luxembourg, and was stationed in Czechoslovakia. While in Czechoslovakia, Davis contracted hepatitis and was sent to Rheims, France to recover. Once Davis was healthy he rejoined his company. He was preparing to go to Japan when the atomic bomb was dropped and therefore was discharged at Camp Grant, Illinois on January 12, 1946.
Soon after he married Janet L. Schiller with whom he had two sons. They moved to Tallahassee, Florida where he worked for the United States Department of Labor. Davis was active in military reunions. Raymond Wayne Davis passed away on April 6, 2009, at the age of 85.
Extent
1.00 boxes
Language of Materials
English
Custodial History
Transferred from the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience to FSU Libraries Special Collections & Archives in July 2022.
Source of Acquisition
Mildred L. Renwick
Method of Acquisition
Donated.
- B-24 (Bomber) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Camp Grant (Ill.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Flossenbürg (Concentration camp) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Jefferson Barracks (Saint Louis, Mo.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Letters Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Machine shops Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Miami (Fla.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Oral history Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Ploiești (Romania) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Prisoners of war--Germany--History--20th century Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- United States. Army Air Forces. 3rd Strategic Air Depot Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- United States. Army. Infantry Regiment, 358th Subject Source: Local sources
- V-2 rocket Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- V-mail Subject Source: Lctgm
- Watton (Norfolk, England) Subject Source: Local sources
- World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Luxembourg Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--Czechoslovakia Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--France Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--Germany Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--Germany--Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- World War, 1939-1945--Great Britain Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- Raymond Wayne Davis papers
- Author
- Julianna Witt
- Date
- 03/30/2018
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- eng
Repository Details
Part of the FSU Special Collections & Archives Repository
116 Honors Way
PO Box 3062047
Tallahassee FL 32306-2047 US
850-644-3271
lib-specialcollections@fsu.edu