Prior to his entry into the military, Davis (or Dave as he was affectionatley known) was a student at the University of West Virginia in civil engineering. He left the University to attend George Washington Vanderbilt's Biltmore School of Forestry in Asheville, NC studying under the tutelage of German forester, Dr. Carl Schenck, who was considered by many to be the "Father of American Forestry."
After graduating from the forestry school, Dave worked in the lumber business in the Charleston, WV area for the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co.. A few years later, Dave took a commission in the U.S. Army in 1915 and served with "Black Jack" Pershing in the search for Mexican outlaw Pancho Villa and the riots along the Mexican border in 1916-17.
When the First World War broke out, he was sent to France and for a short while served with the occupation forces in Coblenz, Germany. He was later the commanding officer of a German prisoner of war stockade in south central France, near Chateauroux.
In 1920, while visiting his sister in Kansas City, MO, a chance meeting with a young woman, would prove to be a privotal moment in young Dave's life. His sister Anna was married to Howard F. Wehrle, who was District Manager for Kinnear Steel Doors and his secretary was a young beautiful single woman from Chanute, Kansas. Her name was Oressa Lee Heminger. A romance blossomed between Dave and Oressa, also known as "Johnny" and on December 27, 1921, the two were married in a private home wedding in Chanute, Kansas. Afterwards the newlyweds made their way to Camp Benning in Georgia where Dave was stationed at that time.
Dave later served in Puerto Rico and was billeted with quarters in El Morro Castle. My Aunt Johnny (Oressa) was permitted to accompany Dave during the occupation and said that it was "no treat". She said the castle was damp and smelled of moss growth and was lousy with tiny lizards. Dave was later transferred to the Panama Canal Zone and was a contemporary of Dwight Eisenhower who was at the Canal Zone at the same time.
Health brought his military service to an end and medical retirement to Coral Gables, Florida, where he remained till his death.
After graduating from the forestry school, Dave worked in the lumber business in the Charleston, WV area for the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co.. A few years later, Dave took a commission in the U.S. Army in 1915 and served with "Black Jack" Pershing in the search for Mexican outlaw Pancho Villa and the riots along the Mexican border in 1916-17.
When the First World War broke out, he was sent to France and for a short while served with the occupation forces in Coblenz, Germany. He was later the commanding officer of a German prisoner of war stockade in south central France, near Chateauroux.
In 1920, while visiting his sister in Kansas City, MO, a chance meeting with a young woman, would prove to be a privotal moment in young Dave's life. His sister Anna was married to Howard F. Wehrle, who was District Manager for Kinnear Steel Doors and his secretary was a young beautiful single woman from Chanute, Kansas. Her name was Oressa Lee Heminger. A romance blossomed between Dave and Oressa, also known as "Johnny" and on December 27, 1921, the two were married in a private home wedding in Chanute, Kansas. Afterwards the newlyweds made their way to Camp Benning in Georgia where Dave was stationed at that time.
Dave later served in Puerto Rico and was billeted with quarters in El Morro Castle. My Aunt Johnny (Oressa) was permitted to accompany Dave during the occupation and said that it was "no treat". She said the castle was damp and smelled of moss growth and was lousy with tiny lizards. Dave was later transferred to the Panama Canal Zone and was a contemporary of Dwight Eisenhower who was at the Canal Zone at the same time.
Health brought his military service to an end and medical retirement to Coral Gables, Florida, where he remained till his death.
Prior to his entry into the military, Davis (or Dave as he was affectionatley known) was a student at the University of West Virginia in civil engineering. He left the University to attend George Washington Vanderbilt's Biltmore School of Forestry in Asheville, NC studying under the tutelage of German forester, Dr. Carl Schenck, who was considered by many to be the "Father of American Forestry."
After graduating from the forestry school, Dave worked in the lumber business in the Charleston, WV area for the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co.. A few years later, Dave took a commission in the U.S. Army in 1915 and served with "Black Jack" Pershing in the search for Mexican outlaw Pancho Villa and the riots along the Mexican border in 1916-17.
When the First World War broke out, he was sent to France and for a short while served with the occupation forces in Coblenz, Germany. He was later the commanding officer of a German prisoner of war stockade in south central France, near Chateauroux.
In 1920, while visiting his sister in Kansas City, MO, a chance meeting with a young woman, would prove to be a privotal moment in young Dave's life. His sister Anna was married to Howard F. Wehrle, who was District Manager for Kinnear Steel Doors and his secretary was a young beautiful single woman from Chanute, Kansas. Her name was Oressa Lee Heminger. A romance blossomed between Dave and Oressa, also known as "Johnny" and on December 27, 1921, the two were married in a private home wedding in Chanute, Kansas. Afterwards the newlyweds made their way to Camp Benning in Georgia where Dave was stationed at that time.
Dave later served in Puerto Rico and was billeted with quarters in El Morro Castle. My Aunt Johnny (Oressa) was permitted to accompany Dave during the occupation and said that it was "no treat". She said the castle was damp and smelled of moss growth and was lousy with tiny lizards. Dave was later transferred to the Panama Canal Zone and was a contemporary of Dwight Eisenhower who was at the Canal Zone at the same time.
Health brought his military service to an end and medical retirement to Coral Gables, Florida, where he remained till his death.
After graduating from the forestry school, Dave worked in the lumber business in the Charleston, WV area for the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co.. A few years later, Dave took a commission in the U.S. Army in 1915 and served with "Black Jack" Pershing in the search for Mexican outlaw Pancho Villa and the riots along the Mexican border in 1916-17.
When the First World War broke out, he was sent to France and for a short while served with the occupation forces in Coblenz, Germany. He was later the commanding officer of a German prisoner of war stockade in south central France, near Chateauroux.
In 1920, while visiting his sister in Kansas City, MO, a chance meeting with a young woman, would prove to be a privotal moment in young Dave's life. His sister Anna was married to Howard F. Wehrle, who was District Manager for Kinnear Steel Doors and his secretary was a young beautiful single woman from Chanute, Kansas. Her name was Oressa Lee Heminger. A romance blossomed between Dave and Oressa, also known as "Johnny" and on December 27, 1921, the two were married in a private home wedding in Chanute, Kansas. Afterwards the newlyweds made their way to Camp Benning in Georgia where Dave was stationed at that time.
Dave later served in Puerto Rico and was billeted with quarters in El Morro Castle. My Aunt Johnny (Oressa) was permitted to accompany Dave during the occupation and said that it was "no treat". She said the castle was damp and smelled of moss growth and was lousy with tiny lizards. Dave was later transferred to the Panama Canal Zone and was a contemporary of Dwight Eisenhower who was at the Canal Zone at the same time.
Health brought his military service to an end and medical retirement to Coral Gables, Florida, where he remained till his death.
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