GEORGE
A. DAVISON
United States Army
320th AA Barrage Balloon Battalion, VLA
By
William "Bill" Davison
MY FATHER, GEORGE A.
DAVISON, U.S. Army, member of the all Black, 320th AA Barrage Balloon Battalion,
VLA (Very Low Altitude) was onboard the LCT 608 with a group of Army Rangers.
The job of the 320th was to man and keep flying, those smaller barrage balloons
seen in the skies over
Omaha
and
Utah
beaches and attached to many ships and boats in the
English Channel
.
Dad mentions the Rangers in
his papers. I am trying to learn more about Dad's experience and those with him
in LCT 608. During the trip from
England
to
France
, the 608 picked up a downed British pilot, pilot of a B-24 or
Halifax
(as both are mentioned) that had ditched in the Channel. He also mentioned an
altercation... a fight, between two Rangers on the 608, which quickly ended
after a couple punches were thrown. Seems the Ranger's CO wanted all accounts
settled before the 608 hit the beach and had these two men settle their
differences while still in the Channel. Too,
Dad mentions the “facilities” aboard the 608 and that one had to be very
careful else one fall overboard rather easily!
So, with Army Rangers (at
least onboard the 608), members of the 320th were scattered thru the invasion
fleet. You see a barrage balloon...there is a 3 man crew of African Americans
soldiers with that balloon...to prevent German aircraft from strafing
Omaha
and
Utah
Beaches
. Also, there was the headquarters unit of the Battalion and it too was on the
beach. They stayed as long as they were needed. When the beaches were secured,
the balloons, some of them at least, were shot down by the Navy and the soldiers
of the 320th were given new assignments…moving inland.
Dad has a photo of a group of colored soldiers looking for a German
soldier at a farmhouse. On this photo, Dad wrote “Who is this Richie?
A note to Richie, his son, that one of the men in the photo was George,
his father. Dad did not recall the
names of the others in the photo but he did mention that the photographer was
“a pain in the _ _ _ !”. Dad
mentions French civilians with some being part of the Underground.
Some time ago, and only once that I recall, he mentioned coming against
the SS. Dad talked very little
about his experience with me but he did speak at length with another World War 2
veteran. Conversations were always in private and when I got close, both would
keep quiet. Having been in
Vietnam
, I understood!
As the 608 waited its turn
to make it’s approach, Dad was witness to the horrors that those ahead of him
were facing. He then experienced those horrors while coming ashore. And, on the
beach, Dad was to witness more and experience what would haunt him until the 80th
year and 6th month of
his life when he died.
Dad's recollection of the
Rangers he met....professional soldiers who taught Dad and his men a great deal
about survival. You see, the 320th was originally formed to protect the
U.S.
cities from enemy aircraft attacks. Then, someone got the bright idea of
protecting
Omaha
and
Utah
beaches with balloons. A grand idea on a grand scale and so, the 320th went
from non-combatant to combatant, from the States, to
Great Britain
, to the coast of
France
. While he and the others trained well for what was coming, the tips and tricks
of the trade from the Rangers onboard the 608 would turn out to be additional
lifesavers. He said the Rangers had been in the
Italy
campaign. Just thought I would share this and hope to find out more
about Boat 608 and the others onboard.
Reading
thru his notes, Dad mentions crossing the
Atlantic
on the RMS Aquitania, a ship which carried, by his recall, 10,000 troops and
civilians, men and women alike. Dad left the States from
Camp Shanks
,
New York
, and aboard the
Aquitania
, he docked at Forth of Clyde, Scotland. From there, he and his unit traveled to
Checkinton(sp), 40 miles from
London
. With help, I was able to find reference to that ship, one of the Cunard Line.
In
England
, the English people were told by white American soldiers that Black American
soldiers had tails, and reading Dad's memories, at least several of the local
civilians checked for themselves to see if this was true.
Just thought I would pass along this part of Dad's experience in
England
.
Regarding the 608 picking up
the downed British pilot…the pilot was saved but I am not sure if he was
transferred from the 608 to another craft before the 608 landed at
Normandy
as Dad makes no other mention of the pilot after he was plucked from the
Channel. This happened at roughly 0200 - 0300,
June 6, 1944
. And it was God's will that the pilot ditched his plane in the path of the 608
and that the pilot's little one cell signal lamp fastened to the collar of his
life jacket gave the light that someone onboard the 608 was able to see...and
rescue the pilot. Dad's words: "...this day turned out to be a most
interesting day and two things happened to make it that way. First, the B-24
pilot who we had picked up came out on deck and expressed his happiness to have
the American Navy around. Thank All of you he said, I wouldn't be here if it
were not for you. He said he was out and didn't remember anything after ditching
his plane. He said the channel should be full of Airmen because they were really
trying to make a big hit on certain targets since the Big Show was going to
happen. Those targets being shore installations and beach fortifications. He
said he had been hit with flak and was trying to make it to the British side of
the channel before ditching, there was a lot of English people patrolling shore
waters over there for the purpose of rescuing down pilots. He was very happy and
lucky and showed some appreciation by the way he expressed hiself."
There may have been a great many watercraft in the Channel on that
morning but still, the Channel is a large body of water.
My father died in October,
2002, at the age of 80. My thanks to the Royal Air Force for "making it
easier of the ones to land on the Normandy Beachheads".
It would be fantastic to
learn the name of the pilot.
I hope this part of my
father's experience might add a little history to the British library of D-Day,
June 6, 1944
.
My thanks too to every
Allied soldier, airman, sailor and civilian who liberated
France
and brought an end to the war.
Three DAVISON brothers, from
Waynesburg
,
Pennsylvania
, were serving during World War 2. GEORGE,
with the 320th in France, and FRANK, who was also in
France
and was able to meet his brother George one day. Seems Frank noticed a truck
with 320th on it and followed it and was able to spend a little time
with George. LAWRENCE, the third
brother, was serving on
New Guinea
in the Pacific. Their parents, Frederick and Dorothy Davison, had three stars
in their window. All three came
home safely.
I
made a promise to Dad to tell his story and the story of the 320th
and I appreciate being able to do so here.
Thank you,
Bill A. Davison
RETURN TO
320th AA Barrage Balloon Battalion, VLA