DAVIS, Glenn, Sr., VADM

Deceased
 
 Service Photo   Service Details
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Last Rank
Vice Admiral
Last Primary NEC
111X-Unrestricted Line Officer - Surface Warfare
Last Rating/NEC Group
Line Officer
Primary Unit
1952-1953, 6th Naval District
Service Years
1913 - 1953
Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral

 Last Photo   Personal Details 

621 kb

Home State
Ohio
Ohio
 Year of Birth
1892
 
This Military Service Page was created/owned by Steven Loomis (SaigonShipyard), IC3 to remember DAVIS, Glenn, Sr., VADM.

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Contact Info
Home Town
Norwalk, Huron County, Ohio		 Last Address
Died: Hilton Head Island
Beaufort County, South Carolina

Burial:
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, Virginia
Plot: Section 2 Site 1148-2
Date of Passing
Sep 09, 1984		  
Location of Interment
Arlington National Cemetery - Arlington, Virginia		 Wall/Plot Coordinates
Not Specified

 Official Badges 

US Navy Retired 30


 Unofficial Badges 

US Navy Honorable Discharge




 Additional Information
Last Known Activity
Glenn Benson Davis, Sr.
Vice Admiral, United States Navy

Glenn Benson Davis, Sr., 92, a retired United States Navy Vice Admiral who was a highly decorated combat veteran of WWII, died of a heart attack September 9, 1984 at Hilton Head Hospital on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. He had lived in Wash, DC, until moving in July to a retirement community in Hilton Head. 

Vice Admiral Davis, a 1913 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, served aboard the U.S.S. KANSAS during the occupation of Vera Cruz, Mexico (1914). During World War I he served aboard the tanker MAUMEE and subsequently saw duty aboard a variety of battleships, destroyers and cruisers. He was aboard the PHILADELPHIA (1937-1939) at the time of President Franklin Roosevelt's cruise and then was assigned as chief of the Bureau of Ordnance. During World War II he commanded the battleship U.S.S. WASHINGTON in the South Pacific and became commander of Battleship Division Eight.  His World War II medals included 2 Legions of Merit and the Navy Cross. 

When the US entered WWII, Admiral Davis was Assistant Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance. In July 1942, he took command of the new battleship Washington and sailed her in harm's way at Guadalcanal. The Washington was flagship of Task Force 64 and leading a supply operation when it became engaged in the bitter fight off Savo Island on the night of November 14-15, 1942. 

For his actions in the battle, Admiral Davis was awarded the Navy Cross. The award's citation reads in part: "Boldly fighting against numerically superior forces, he skillfully maneuvered his ship unscathed through perilous waters despite the hazards of enemy gunfire and repeated hostile torpedo attacks. His superior leadership in the face of grave danger inspired his men to direct rapid and accurate gunfire against the Japanese ships, thereby sinking one hostile vessel outright and contributing materially to the destruction of other enemy ships." 

In April 1943, he was named commander of Battleship Division 8. He was awarded two Legion of Merit medals for leading the division against the enemy at Truk, and during carrier raids on Saipan, Tinian, and Guam, and in other legendary battles of the Pacific war. He returned to the mainland in March 1945. 

His postwar assignments included tours as superintendent of the USN Gun Factory in Washington, DC, and commandant of the Potomac River USN Command. His last assignment was as commandant of the 6th USN District in Charleston, South Carolina. He ret from active duty in 1953 and advanced to the rank of Vice Admiral on the basis of his combat awards. After that, he became an executive in the shipping industry, including president of the Isthmian Steamship Co and board chairman of Isthmian Lines Inc, before retiring a second time in 1958. 

Admiral Davis was born in Norwalk, Ohio. In 1913, he graduated 9th in a class of 140 from the United States Naval Academy. 

He served in the Atlantic during WWI. Between the Wars, he studied ordnance engineering at the USN Postgraduate School at Annapolis and chemical warfare at Edgewood Arsenal. He also commanded a destroyer and was executive officer of the light cruiser Philadelphia. 

Glenn B. Davis, Sr., 1892-1984. He was buried in Section 2 of Arlington National Cemetery.
   
Other Comments:
 
NAVY CROSS
Awarded for actions during the World War II

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Rear Admiral [then Captain] Glenn Benson Davis, United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the Battleship U.S.S. WASHINGTON (BB-56), during an engagement with Japanese naval forces near Savo Island on the night of 14 - 15 November 1942. Rear Admiral Davis skillfully maneuvered his ship through perilous waters and repeated torpedo attacks against numerically superior Japanese forces. Gunfire from his ship is credited with sinking one enemy ship and damaging others. His own ship came through the engagement undamaged. His conduct throughout was in keeping with the highest traditions of the Navy of the United States.

General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 320 (November 1943)
Action Date: November 14 - 15, 1942
Service: Navy 
Rank: Rear Admiral
Company: Commanding Officer
Division: U.S.S. Washington (BB-56)
   
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Mariana and Palau Islands Campaign (1944)/Battle of Tinian
Start Year
1944		 End Year
1944

Description
The Battle of Tinian was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands from 24 July until 1 August 1944. The 9,000-man Japanese garrison was eliminated, and the island joined Saipan and Guam as a base for the Twentieth Air Force.
The 4th Marine Division landed on 24 July 1944, supported by naval bombardment and marine artillery firing across the strait from Saipan. With the help of Seabee ingenuity the Marines were able to land where the Japanese did not expect, along the Northwest coast with its water's edge small coral cliffs. A successful feint for the major settlement of Tinian Town diverted defenders from the actual landing site on the north of the island. They withstood a series of night counterattacks supported by tanks, and the 2nd Marine Division landed the next day.
The weather worsened on 28 July, damaging the pontoon causeways, and interrupting the unloading of supplies. By 29 July, the Americans had captured half the island, and on 30 July the 4th Marine Division occupied Tinian Town and Airfield No. 4.
Japanese remnants made a final stand in the caves and ravines of a limestone ridge on the south portion of the island, making probes and counterattacks into the Marine line. Resistance continued through 3 August, with some civilians murdered by the Japanese.

Aftermath
By 10 August 1944, 13,000 Japanese civilians were interned, but up to 4,000 were dead through suicide, murdered by Japanese troops or killed in combat. The garrison on Aguijan Island off the southwest cape of Tinian, commanded by Lieutenant Kinichi Yamada, held out until the end of the war, surrendering on 4 September 1945. The last holdout on Tinian, Murata Susumu, was captured in 1953.
After the battle, Tinian became an important base for further Allied operations in the Pacific campaign. Camps were built for 50,000 troops. Fifteen thousand Seabees turned the island into the busiest airfield of the war, with six 7,900-foot (2,400 m) runways for attacks by United States Army Air Forces B-29 Superfortress bombers on enemy targets in the Philippines, the Ryukyu Islands, and mainland Japan, including the March 9/10 1945 Operation Meetinghouse firebombing of Tokyo and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. North Field was built over Airfields No. 1 and 3, and became operational in February 1945, while West Field was built over Airfield No. 2, and became operational in March 1945.

 
   
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Year
1944		 To Year
1944
 
Last Updated:
Oct 29, 2011
   
Personal Memories

Memories
In April 1943, he was named commander of Battleship Division 8. He was awarded two Legion of Merit medals for leading the division against the enemy at Truk, and during carrier raids on Saipan, Tinian, and Guam, and in other legendary battles of the Pacific war. He returned to the mainland in March 1945.

   
My Photos From This Battle or Operation
No Available Photos

  112 Also There at This Battle:
More...  
  • Adling, Richard
  • Besson, John Henry, RADM, (1931-1959)
  • Brewster, Donald, PO3, (1943-1946)
  • Brownlow, JD, PO3, (1943-1946)
  • Crawforth, Evan, PO2, (1942-1945)
  • Crookshank, Irvin, PO2, (1942-1946)
  • Dawson, William L., PO2, (1942-1945)
  • Dikel, Samuel, PO2, (1942-1946)
  • Garrett, Earl, PO2, (1941-1953)
  • Habick, Henry
  • Kundrot, Vity
  • Lucas, Charles S., PO3, (1943-1946)
  • Meek, James Ross, PO2, (1943-1947)
  • Newport, William, PO2, (1942-1946)
  • Nichols, Monte, CPO, (1941-1947)
  • Rogers, George
  • Smith, Benjamin James, PO1, (1939-1945)
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