James Thomas Davis
PFC James T. Davis served with Able Company, First Battalion, 8th Marines.
He was reported as wounded and evacuated from Betio, Tarawa atoll on 22 November 1943, and ultimately declared dead on 23 November 1944.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 338015
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
August 8, 1918
at Brownville, MS
Parents
Thomas Henry Davis
Mattie (Hardy) Davis
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Farmer
(for Earle Coleman, Copiah, MS)
Service Life
Entered Service
January 14, 1942
at Jackson, MS
Home Of Record
Carpenter, MS
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Mattie Davis
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
A/1/8th Marines
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC James T. Davis served with Company A, First Battalion, 8th Marines in the Solomon Islands campaign and in the battle for Tarawa.
At midday on 20 November 1943, BLT 1-8 climbed over the sides of their transport ships and boarded LCVPs in Tarawa lagoon. They anticipated imminent landing orders, but due to the desperate situation on the beach were held offshore in their little boats, bobbing in the waves for the rest of the day and a very long night. Early on 21 November, they were ordered to land on Betio’s Beach Red 2.
At 0615, the first waves of 1-8 rushed down the ramps and into the breaking surf on a coral reef some 500 yards from shore. Although friendly troops held the water’s edge, they “immediately came under heavy machine gun fire from both flanks.” The battalion was decimated on the long walk to shore. An action report penned by the 8th Marines noted that “many of the casualties resulted from drowning, due to the heavy packs and equipment men attempted to take across the submerged fringing reef.”
PFC Davis managed to survive the landing and a full day of combat on Betio, but on 22 November 1943 he suffered a gunshot wound in the right hip. A corpsman preformed quick triage, but the wound was severe enough to require Davis’ evacuation. Battalion casualty reports noted his departure, and the monthly muster roll indicated he was “sick [in] hospital” effective 22 November. His service record book indicated that he had reached the transport USS Doyen “for further treatment and disposition.”
However, nothing more was ever heard from James Davis. He never arrived at a rear area hospital, and it seems he never even reached the Doyen. Tracers were sent to determine his whereabouts, but Davis could not be found. A presumptive finding of death was issued on 23 November 1944, and to this day the exact circumstances of James Davis’ disappearance remain a mystery.
Burial Information or Disposition
None recorded; reported as missing in action.
No Betio memorial marker.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Mattie Davis.
Location Of Loss
PFC Davis was last seen at an unspecified location on Betio.