On July 16 1944 1st Lt. Alonza W. Davis shot down an enemy airplane over Vienna Austria earning the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroic actions. A scholar, Davis graduated Valedictorian at Technical High in March 1937 and won the First Annual University Scholarship awarded by Alpha Eta chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi National Negro College Fraternity. He attended Omaha University. Davis joined the Army Air Corps in 1942. From July 1942 to March 1943, he was an aviation cadet at Tuskegee Airfield, Alabama, where he graduated at the top of his flight class. Upon graduation, he was assigned to the 302d Fighter Squadron in Italy. Later he was attached to the Group Headquarters of the 332d Fighter Group as the Assistant Group Operations Officer. His final mission occurred 29 October 1944 while on a special high-reconnaissance mission to Munich, Germany. About 12 miles west of Salvatore Point, near the Gulf of Trieste, he was lost in overcast weather, never to be seen or heard from again. The War Department later issued a presumptive finding of death while missing in action on 30 October 1945. In addition to his Distinguished Flying Cross Captain Davis awards and decorations included: Purple Heart, and Distinguished Unit Citation.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 04:39:53 +0000