DAVIS DD 937

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Forrest Sherman Class Destroyer Keel Laid 1 February 1955 - Launched 28 March 1956 USS DAVIS DD-937 Commissioned 6 March 1957 - Decommissioned 31 October 1969 Recommissioned 17 October 1970 - 20 December 1982 Stricken 27 July 1990 - Sold 30 June 1994 for scrap

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

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1. USS Davis DD-937 Covers Page 1    (1961-1978)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

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1st Commissioning March 6 1957 to October 31 1969

 

Locy Type FDC 9fu

1957-03-06

Commissioning

 

Locy Type 2(n) USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. D-42

1967-10-22

Note:

 

Locy Type 2(n+) USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. D-42a

1963-05-07 to 1963-05-07

Note:

 

Locy Type 2t(n+u)

1961-09-17

Note: Stamp missing

 

Locy Type 9ef(nu) USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. D-42c

1966-06-20

Note:

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2nd Commissioning 17 October 1970 to 20 December 1982

 

Locy Type 2(n+) (USS)

1973-07-30

Note:

 

Locy Type 9-2etn+y (USS, USPO, FPO MIAMI)

1982-02-09

Official Mail, from the George Marcincin collection.

 

Other Information

NAMESAKE - Commander George F. Davis, USNR (March 23 1911 - January 6 1945)
Davis was appointed to the United States Naval Academy from the Naval Reserve in 1930 and graduated in May 1934. Ensign Davis' first duty station was the new Heavy Cruiser USS TUACALOOSA CA-37. While in that ship he served as an Aircraft Gunnery Observer with her embarked aviation units. From 1939 to 1941 Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Davis served as an officer of the Destroyer USS BROOME DD-210 and Fast Minesweeper USS HOPKINS DMS-13. Following promotion to the rank of Lieutenant in mid-1941 he was assigned to the Battleship USS OKLAHOMA BB-37, which was sunk on December 7 1941 when Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor opened the Pacific War. In January 1942 Lieutenant Davis was transferred to the Light Cruiser USS HONOLULU CL-48, in which he participated in operations in the Aleutian Islands, the hard fighting over Guadalcanal and the Central Solomons, and the campaign to recover Guam. He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and Commander while serving in Honolulu, which he left in mid-1944. Following training in advanced surface warfare techniques, he was given command of the Destroyer USS WALKE DD-416 in late November 1944. On January 6 1945 his ship was covering minesweeping operations in advance of the Lingayen Gulf invasion when she was attacked by four Japanese Kamikazes. Though WALKE shot down two, the third plane struck the ship, enveloping her bridge area in burning gasoline. Though horribly burned, Commander Davis remained on his feet, conned the ship, directed damage control efforts and saw to the destruction of the fourth suicide plane. Only when WALKE's survival was assured did he relinquish his post to be taken below, where he died a short time later. For his conduct, Commander George F. Davis was posthumously awarded The Medal of Honor. His body was buried at sea.

 

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