Edward Kevil Davis Sr.

COURIER-POST CAMDEN N.J., MARCH 12, 1945 

Soldier Dies In Nazi Prison After Capture

Pennsauken Private Was Father of Son He Never Saw

      The 23-year-old Pennsauken father of a three-month-old boy he never saw died in a German prison camp on February 1.
      He was Private Edward K. Davis, whose wife, Frances, and son, Edward K. Jr., live with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. R. Taggert, of 3118 Cove Road, Pennsauken.
      Mrs. Davis was notified March 6 by the International Red Cross her husband had died. The telegram did not explain the circumstances.
      Davis was an infantryman with the First Army. He was reported missing in action last December 18, and it is believed he was captured during the Battle of the Bulge.

      Edward K. Davis was born in Pennsauken on September 8, 1921. He attended the Collins Tract Elementary School, and graduated from Pennsauken Jr. High School in 1937. He attended Moorestown High School, and Camden County Vocational & Technical School for welding, leaving after completing the 10th grade. Prior to entering the Army on September 7, 1942, he worked at the John H. Mathis Shipyard in Camden, and for the Kieckhefer Container Company. He reported for active duty on September 21, 1942.

After basic training Private Davis was assigned to an anti-aircraft unit, which he served with until his transfer to the infantry. He went overseas as a member of Company K, 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th infantry Division. The 99th Infantry Division landed in France in December of 1944 and was assigned to defend a 19 mile front in the then-quiet Ardennes sector, immediately to the north of the equally inexperienced 106th Infantry Division. In December of 1944 German forced mounted surprise attack against these two units in what came to be known as the Battle of the Bulge. Private Davis took part in the fight for Losheimergraben and the defense of the Elsenborn Ridge, where a desperate defense by vastly outnumbered American forces bought valuable time by delaying the German advance. Company K defended an area near Bucholz Station. Two platoons were at Lanzerath and were completely engulfed by the German advance on December 16, 1944. A few men managed to avoid capture for the moment, but were left stranded behind the German lines as the panzers advanced.

Taken prisoner by German forces on December 18, 1944 Private Davis was taken to Stalag 13D (Oflag 73) at Nuremburg, Bavaria. Germany. It was here that he died on February 1, 1945.

Private Davis was survived by his mother, Mrs. Dorothy M. Davis, and grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank R. Blizzard of 6626 Westfield Avenue, Pennsauken NJ, and his father, Edward W. Davis, of Allenhurst NJ, who had received the Purple Heart during his service in World War I.

Thanks to Private Davis' son, Edward Davis Cunningham, for his assistance in with this page.