James A. Davitt, Died February 10, 1931

Rev. James A. Davitt
Died February 10, 1931
(uncle of Ralph G. Davitt?)

(All of these Remembrance Holy Cards have a religious image on the back.
They were distributed at the funeral mass. )

Ralph G. Davitt, the Very Early Years

So here he is, just a few weeks old, set out in the snow! (He was born in May....but where was it? Massachusetts?) I've included the whole picture, so you can see the "R" that stands for Ralph.
I guess this is when his love affair with strange civilian outfits and hats began. And, he has a friend. But who is that lurking in the background?

Here little Ralphie is with his father and sister, Peg.

James J. Davitt, Sr. These photographs are from the beautiful album that Grandma Davitt kept. I scanned these images--they are still in the book and Uncle Bob has it. He is going to label the photos so we'll all know who is whom and where the pictures were taken.

Ralph G. Davitt, the Very Early Years #2

School pictures!!

This picture was taken on the roof in the Bronx:

The last picture is obviously cousins and/or other relatives. I remember mention of an Aunt Kit...and can't remember who else he mentioned.

15th Air Force, 2nd Bombardment Group, 20th Bomb Squadron

Here's some war history for you. There will be a test:
..........................................................................
When the 2nd Bomb Group arrived in North Africa, April 1943, it was assigned to NASAF (North African Strategic Air Force). It, along with the newly assigned 99th bomb group, was part of a reshuffling of heavy groups among England, North Africa and the Middle East.

Later the B-17 and B-24 groups were assigned to the 12th Air Force.

They remained in the 12th until the 15th Air Force was organized in Dec. 1943 and moved to Italy. The four B-17 groups and the two B-24 groups, making up the 5th Wing, were moved to the 15th. The B-24 groups were then moved to other wings and the 5th Wing was composed of the four groups of B-17s. Two more B-17 groups were later added to the 5th Wing.
..........................................................................

This, of course, is the plane that Digger named after his sweetheart with the beautiful eyes (MaryJane Hansen.)

And here is an excerpt from the list of the 50 missions that Ralph G. Davitt flew during WWII. At the beginning, he is listed as co-pilot on a few flights.The initials under "CRW" (crew) indicate whose crew flew the plane (duh.)

The date is read in reverse. 43 is 1943, 08 is August, 09 is the 9th. (year/month/date)

Then you can see the serial number of the plane that flew the mission. Dad writes, 43-0403. On the list, the 4 is omitted and it lists as 230403.

I'll print the entire list when we get into the war pictures.

Ralph G. Davitt at the Acropolis

(Athens, Greece. Nothing written on the back of this photograph.)

The Lean and Lanky Major

Introducing Squadron Commanding Officers by Jess Remez

"March 27, 1941, I was greeted by the President with a card," says Major Ralph G. Davitt, Commanding Officer of Squadron "F", in describing his entrance into military life.

New York City born and bred, Major Davitt attended Regis High School, where he had an avid interest in sports, and especially excelled in track. He later attended the Packard Business School and then held a job with a steamship company, prior to his induction into the Army.

As a raw recruit he was sent to Pine Camp in New York, issued a World War I uniform, and, in time became an X-ray Technician.

Major Davitt then took the Air Corps Examination and was admitted to the Cadets. This led to the usual Cadet life including a 10-week stop over at Shaw Field, which, he states was a little different and not so appealing at that time.

Upon graduation, which was in November 1942, he was assigned to the 2nd Air Force, where he was designated the task of flying the B-17's. His group was sent overseas and immediately put into action.

Stationed in Africa, he flew fifty missions, and has seen combat over Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Greece, France, Albania, Austria and Italy. During this time he considers himself fortunate for his entire crew remained intact.

He then moved to Headquarters 15th Air Force, which was located in Bari, Italy, and served in the capacity of Asst A-3. He remained in this position for two years and was finally sent back to the States, making a total of 26 months overseas.

Once back in home territory he immediately set forth to join the rank of the "married men," and later received his orders appointing him the Squadron Commander of Squadron "F."

Six feet tall, the lean and lanky Major discloses the fact that he has a great interest for sailing, and also dabbles in photography. His plans for the immediate future are "To see to it that Squadron 'F' retains its high standing which it now has."

Toddler Ralph

(Verso: J.J., Jr., Ralph)

Joseph J. Davitt, Sr.

Mary C. Kinsella Davitt

Ralph's mother.

Ralph in the Photo Booth

Okay, here's Ralph picking up his date. I'm guessing this did not happen in the Bronx, as there are serious houses in the pictures, not apartment buildings. There is also a photograph of the young lady standing on the porch which I haven't posted. She is the same one in the photos below. Why not take your date to the photo booth? And, once you figure out how to work it, you can take your picture! Oh she has eyes for Ralph, all right.



Gettin' all Frank Sinatra on us with that fedora...!

Digger at Work

So, I'm trying to guess the chronological order of the photos based on Digger's rank (if visible) and amount of hair loss. Sometimes, there is a date on the photo, too.

Major. Watch on right arm. No info on photo.

No info. I don't recognize the sofa fabric, so I don't think this was taken at home.

This photo is labeled: Hallowe'en, Kanko Hotel. What is that costume supposed to be? When the American forces moved into Japan after the war, the took over some of the buildings. The Kanko Hotel was converted to an Officers Club. We used to go there on Sundays. We would eat dinner and then all the kids would drag their chairs up to the front of the dance floor. They would show cartoons and a movie. This is where dad performed the rabbit-jumping-up-your-arm that he made from a cloth napkin. We played "Letter B," a game where you'd get a ight punch on the arm for saying words with the letter B in them. Patty got her arm stuck through the back of the chair and caused a huge commotion as many people assisted in trying to get it out. They almost sawed through the chair. Patty also had bubble gum thrown into her hair by some other kid. Dad gave Greg and me a dollar worth of nickels and set us up at the slot machines. We ate frog legs. He made us learn to use chopsticks on a bowl of salted peanuts. For money we used the Japanese currency, yen, when dealing with Japanese, but to shop at the American places there was a certain kind of script and you got it at the Kanko Hotel. Can't remember the exact name. Vendors would come and this is where mom got some of her pearls.

Cute Dixie cup with paper handles..what is that speaker by the phone for? No info on this picture.

No info. Dad hard at work in his shades and check out the old typewriter.

Sep, 1966 In the Air Force they say, "Don't shoot 'em, Chanute 'em." This was dad's last assignment, Chanute AFB, Illinois.

September, 1966. The watch has moved. This casual uniform was called 1505s. In 1967 Dad retired and moved the family to Tempe, AZ.

Davitt Military Portraits '43 - 47

Ralph grew a moustache:

March 1, 1943, Pierre, South Dakota.

Dad sent pictures to two people. His mother and his sweetheart. He sent the photo below to his mother. I found this notation on the back. Do you suppose "hot" meant the same thing in 1943 that it does now?

(April 12, 1943, Pierre, South Dakota
He shaved off the moustache.)

no date

no date

no date

November, 1947, Albany, Georgia
(Note the photos of MaryJane on the desk. )

Pope John Paul II Came to Phoenix...

and Uncle Alan joined Digger Davitt, Papal Mass Usher.Check it out. Uncle Alan is wearing a hat that says,
"Super Dad, DIGGER."
(photo: l: Ralph G. Davitt; r: J. Alan Davitt)

Digger in Triumph

Digger. TR3. Happy

Digger's First Cars

When I was born, Mom and Dad lived in this house. According to Google Earth, it is still there. The address is 111 Wright Street, Sumter, SC. If you look at the left side, you can see their car in front of the garage. These three photos are dated 3/2/46.This may be the first car dad ever owned. I have no idea what it is. Anybody? So it just came to me. A DeSoto? I looked it up and here's a photo of a 38 DeSoto. The grill isn't exactly the same, but everything else looks good to me.April, 1950: Easter in Montgomery, Alabama. Mom and I are sitting in our 1949 Lincoln Cosmopolitan. Black. Two door model. This car went on a ship to Japan where it was a huge hit with the Japanese. When we lived in in the Japanese house, Dad used to cram it full of little kids and drive them around. (We lived across the street from an orphanage, so there was no shortage of little kids.) I also have memories of driving down really skinny streets and there being concern over whether or not the car would fit. Sometimes we had to back up and go on another road.

I sat behind Mom, and Greg sat behind Digger. I think I remember Mom saying she learned to drive in this car. It had the amazing feature of automatic windows. I remember Dad l.o.v.e.d this car!
Because Dad grew up in the Bronx, he didn't need to have a car. The subway would take him anywhere he wanted to go. Mom talked about him learning to drive in Utah. Tthe first time they drove by a farm with cows he had to get out of the car to go look at it. He was so excited to see a cow in real life. (The Bronx is a bovine-free zone.)