Edward James Davis

Edward “Eddie” Davis was born in Springfield VT on March 24, 1925 to Theodore and Anna Davis and died on April 8, 2010. Eddie attended Springfield schools until 1943 when he enlisted in the US Navy, taking the Coop course at Fellows Gear Shaper. During WWII, Eddie served on an LST (a troop and vehicle landing ship), making the D-Day landing and other landings to support the troops. His ship made over 35 crossings of the English Channel carrying supplies to the troops in Europe. They carried the wounded and also German prisoners to England until the European area had surrendered and then returned to the US and was discharged in 1946. Eddie returned to Springfield and worked on the Springfield Railway and Endicot Johnson Shoe store until 1948 when he was recalled by the US Navy for the Korean War. From 1948 to 1964, Eddie served on various ships. One ship, the USS Chilton APA38, was ordered to Alexandria Egypt to escort American citizens to safety after being trapped in Cairo by the Israeli and Egyptian war. His ship was on patrol duty in the Mediterranean and carried 500 Marines that would support the evacuation. They took aboard over 1400 men, women and children and took them to Suda Bay Crete to be transported to Naples, Italy. Another ship he served on provided security for the Panama Canal during the Korean War. Eddie retired from the Navy with 20 years active duty while stationed in Key West FL in 1964. He remained in the Keys until 2003 when he moved to the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Gulfport MS. Hurricane Katrina heavily damaged the Home in 2005 and he then moved to Jackson TN. He is survived by his daughter Suzanne Utley (Mark) of Jackson TN and grandchildren Blair Berty (Tim) Nashville TN, Britney Vollmer, Atlanta GA and Garrett Moore of Chattanooga, TN. He is also survived by cousins Miriam Abrahamovich, Barbara Burton, Joyce MacDougal, Lenny Jerome and Pauline Benowitz, all of the Springfield, Chester and Ludlow area and Gordon Wescott and Freddie Schueler of MA. Burial will be at 11:00 A.M. at the National Cemetery in Biloxi, MS on Tuesday, April 13, 2009. Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Home, 1726 15th Street in Gulfport is in