David Davenport, local businessman, had a circuitous route from Louisiana College days to his Texas Street location. Slide back to his early life on Standard Oil (Exxon) operations near Homer, LA, where his father was employed, he worked as a youth at the "picture show", and graduated from well known Homer High School.Oil-gas exploration was pervasive, wages were low, unemployment was rampant, so his father borrowed for his enrollment in Louisiana College in September 1937. He joined about 275 students. The total enrollment in the Liberal Arts College, always known for its strong pre-med and Biology, David's major.
David worked afternoons and evenings at the ice cream parlor on Third Street in Alexandria, when he had no classes or labs. (As a young teenager, that kind of job sounded like the supreme one... ..until I asked him...) "Could you eat all the ice cream you wanted?"
"Not without paying for it!" Mr. Simon Tudor was a regular customer, coming in every Saturday for a banana split and paying with a check. One day he had a check for a job, $7,000 or $8,000. "We can't cash that."
Col. Henry Walden was in charge of the National Guard at Louisiana College. In November 1940, they were called up (Federalized) and sent to Camp Blanding, FL. As in all institutions of higher education, female students would greatly outnumber males until 1946. David graduated in May 1941 and enrolled in LSD Med School in New Orleans. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and life changed for everyone. At the end of that year, David ran out of money and joined Flight Services/Air Cadets and was sent to the University of Georgia, Athens, GA, to begin intensive training from January-March 1943.
Now on a three-month training schedule, he completed Primary Flight Training in Memphis, on to Pensacola, FL for final Flight Training and commissioned in Oct. 1943. Selected as a candidate for instructor, he went to the Primary Instructor School, Naval Air Station, New Orleans. He and Bobbie Frazier, his college sweetheart from Merryville, LA, were married. In February 1944, he joined Squadron 93 being formed in Seattle, W A.
Happening elsewhere: American military were pushing back the Axis Power in remote places: Italian Campaign and Battle of Monte Cassino to reach Rome; Japanese troops pushed out of the Aleutians by Army troops; 8th Air Force making daily bombing missions from England to Germany; readying for Operation Overlord, the invasion of Northern Europe; China-Burma-India engagements by air and land; securing Marshall Islands in the island-hopping to stop Japan's aggression in Southwest Pacific.
Squadron 93 had about 150 officers and enlisted personnel. They were sent to North Bend, OR, and trained in torpedo bombers and fighter planes until August 1944. Most of the officers were married and were joined by their wives. Two married local girls. It was a pleasant time with cool temperatures. They wore top coats at night, and lived in a hotel. In August 1944, they were sent to EI Centro, CA, for night flying.
Most of the officers had cars, old ones nevertheless, and David and Bobbie rode with friends in a Model T Touring car, with open sides, canvas top and four doors. Gas shortage was no problem. They left North Bend on Wednesday, arriving at EI Centro Saturday night. Greeted by oven heat of 109 degrees, climatizing was a challenge; the two brides had to spend their time in an air-conditioned hotel. Completing night flying, they transferred to Los Alamitus, CA, for a week to give the pilots experience of takeoff and landing on a carrier. Actor Robert Taylor arranged dates with Hollywood starlets.
They boarded the USS SHAMROCK BAY (CVE-84) for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii., staying about 10 days. With a contingency of planes and Squadron 93, overcrowding meant bunks six high so one couldn't turn over. Many officers were quartered on the hanger deck and in windy passages, where they slept on Army cots. Most of the destroyed ships in Pearl had been removed. Curfew and lights out was at 10e pm. Leaving on Christmas Day, 1944, they rendezvoused in Admiralty Islands, later in Guam, while waiting to catch a carrier.
Assigned to the USS LONG ISLAND (CVE-I), USS BARNES (CVE-20), USS PETROF BAY (CVE-80), USS STEAMER BAY (CVE-87), Navy duty was good.Officers had two staterooms and a ready room, where they played poker every night.About 7:00 or 8:00 o'clock every night it was turned over to enlisted personnel. Theyplayed cards every night and sang. The officers had their own quarters and ate with shipcompany. Navy always had good food. David was personnel officer with a yeoman tokeep the records. He was promoted from Ensign to JG. They stayed on different islandsfor about four months awaiting assignment. Bob Hope and USO troupe was entertainingon an island 10 miles away, so some went to see him.
From March 23 to May 26 they were at Okinawa. This principal and central island of the Japanese Ryukyu archipelago was assaulted on April 1, 1945, by four divisions of Lt. Gen. Simon Buckner's newly formed Tenth US Army. Sixty miles long, Okinawa was a vital air base for a possible invasion of the Japanese mainland. For Americans it was the most costly and complex operation in the Pacific...and the last. Squadron 93 was among the half million troops and 1,213 warships and remained on the PETROF BAY 70 consecutive days. The squadron was one of the first to arrive for missions and patrol at Okinawa and one of the last to leave.
Two pilots of torpedo bombers quickly shot down fIve Zeroes each and became "Aces." Kamikazes were a frightening menace. "We lost fIve pilots and two or three enlisted personnel." One plane went overboard, but the pilot was saved while a torpedo bomber went over, and the pilot was not saved. Price Selerian, AMM2/c, turret gunner, was killed instantly when hit by flak during a propaganda run over Naha fIeld in a TBM 3 airplane.. "Planes were hit by approximately 110 occasions." "Our Skipper, Lt. Cmdr. C. F. Smith, was shot down on April 13 and June 22. The second time, the Army Air Force plane flew over and dropped a life boat for him, and a submarine picked him up, on which he stayed two weeks. He rejoined the Squadron the day we came back to the states. He didn't like the submarine!”
“We were there when the typhoon hit. A photography pilot was coming in when the typhoon began; some of our planes were still out. TBF pilot coming in for a landing; when he cut his engine to land, the ship tail raised up. His plane made a 90-degree bend, his tail bent down. The pilot got out, but his plane went overboard. We originally had 18 fIghter planes and 12 torpedo planes aboard, and didn't lose any planes on deck during the typhoon because they were out on mission.”
The Landing Signal Officer on the carrier directed the pilot where/when to cut the motor; standing in back of the carrier, he took control of the plane when the pilot got directly behind him telling him when to land. A wire/tail hook stopped the plane. Planes were catapulted off.
On July 24, 1945, the squadron arrived at Guam. The one day stopover reminded them of the morale-building days when they were issued beer and coca-cola, baseball, cave exploration, swimming in the tropical waters and the sandy beach, with movies at night. The esprit de corps developed characterized Squadron 93 by its exceptionally high spirits, cooperation, initiative, and loyalty.
On August 4, they left Pearl Harbor for San Diego and decommissioning. David came home on a two-weeks leave, and subsequently went to Coos Bay, OR, accruing points for discharge. His duty was secretary to the Captain of the base, whom he never saw. Almost a ghost base, he and five others stayed in a two-story barracks. When he reached the magic number of points, he rode the train through mountains of snow to Chicago; changed trains to New Orleans and discharge.
David and Bobbie opened an Auto-Lec store in Merryville, a non-growth town. In 1951, they moved to Alexandria. In 1975, they opened an office supply store on Texas Avenue which David and son operate. Daughter Susan and son Roger added much joy to this dedicated family. Three grandchildren add more pleasure.
Squadron 93, longing for their camaraderie, began bi-annual reunions in 1984. David and wife Bobbie were in charge of all the reunions, the last in 2002, in New Orleans. He has always sent newsletters. Fifteen officers and eight enlisted men are still living.
