William R. Davies
Biography: William Revelle Davies, “Bill”, was born on July 20, 1923, in Kansas City, Kansas. He was the son of Claude William Davies and Grace E. Northington and attended local schools through the 9th grade. He then joined the National Guard and was serving in one of the Guard’s field artillery units when they were mobilized by the President in preparation for the impeding war. Elements of the Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri National Guard would form the 35th Infantry Division.
Service Time: Bill officially entered the war on November 23, 1940, which is just before the unit was mobilized on December 23rd. The 35th formed an anti-tank battalion from elements of the 127th, 135th and 161st Field Artillery Battalions, along with a number of support personnel including medical, clerical and ordinance men in June, 1941. We believe Bill was serving with the 127th or the 161st since they were the two Kansas National Guard units. The anti-tank battalion was changed to the 635th Tank Destroyer Battalion on December 15, 1941, and Bill would continue his training with the unit at various military facilities, including Fort Ord and Camp San Luis Obispo in California, Camp Hood, Texas, Camp Polk, Louisiana and then Camp Shanks, New York where they would spend their final few weeks preparing for shipment.
The unit shipped out from the New York port on February 9, 1944, and arrived in Liverpool, England, on February 19th. After a few months of additional training, they boarded transports and landed at Omaha Beach on June 8th. The 635th advanced through northern France and Belgium and then operated in the Roetgen-Aachen sector and Hürtgen Forest during autumn. They transferred to Belgium on December 22nd during the Battle of the Bulge and returned to the Aachen area in January to support the drive toward the Rhine River near Cologne.
They were transferred to the Seventh Army and almost immediately to Third Army on April 1st, 1945. Crossing the Rhine at Mannheim, they advanced through central Germany to Austria. The unit was credited with the campaigns of Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe.
Bill was called upon again to serve in the Korean War and although we don’t have much information on that time period, he was award the Silver Star. After returning home, Bill found work at the Ford Motor Company as an Inspector. He remained with the company until retiring in 1985. In 1972, he married the former Alta Mae Stephens, who was born in Bedford, MO and was the daughter of Frederick Richard Stephens and Georgia A. Saunders.
In his spare time, Bill enjoyed fishing and camping and spending time with his family. He and Alta traveled with other veterans to his WWII reunions. Bill passed away on April 9, 2014, and was buried in the Terrace Park Cemetery in Kansas City, MO. I want to thank Bill’s granddaughter, Meghan, for providing the photos and information for this tribute. Thank you also to Find A Grave contributor “Still Above the Dirt” for the use of the grave marker photo.
