Albert Davis
Biography: Minimal information available at this time. Albert married the former Dorthy Mae Baxter who was born in Fort Worth and was the daughter of James Omar Baxter and Thelma Lucille Foreman.
As of July of 1943, Dorthy was living in Fort Worth, Texas at 2401 Refugio Ave.
Service Time: Albert was inducted into the Army on December 2, 1941. We know little about his early service but as of July 28, 1943, he is serving with the Headquarters Company of the 6th Tank Destroyer Group.
The 6th had been activated at Camp Hood, Texas, on September 1st, so he could have easily been one of the original members of the unit. The unit moved to Camp Young, CA on January 8, 1943, and participated in Maneuvers at the DTC (Desert Training Center) which covered 18,000 square miles of the Mojave Desert in California, Arizona and Nevada. They then moved to Camp Maxey, TX on July 31st, as part of the Third Army.
The unit was prepared for overseas shipment at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, beginning on January 16, 1944, and shipped from the New York Port of Embarkation on the 29th, aboard the RMS Aquitania. They arrived in England on February 5th, and after assisting to prepare troops for the initial D-Day landings, they finally shipped to France, landing on July 25th. They initially acted as part of Task Force “A” of the VIII Corps of the Third Army, and took part in actions across the Brittany region of France on their way to the town of Brest.
Beginning on September 5th, the unit supported XIII Corps of the Ninth Army, as their Anti-Tank section. They moved into Belgium on October 24th, and then into Holland on November 6th. The 6th then moved into Germany on March 16, 1945, and took part in fast moving operations from the Rhine to the Elbe.
Through most of Albert’s time with the unit, he was a Master Sergeant but at some point while overseas, he received an in-field promotion to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. The unit’s After Action Report for May 1945, lists Davis as the Asst. S-1 (Personnel) and Adjutant but he was later made the Assistant S-1 and Recreation Officer.
The 6th received credit for the campaigns of Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland and Central Europe. Albert was awarded the Bronze Star Medal on June 5th, per General Order No. 43, XIII Corps.