Maj. Jack Davis, War Hero

Davis Field south of Muskogee is named for Major Jack C. Davis. This is his senior photograph from his annual. He was a fighter at heart. This character emerged following his graduation from Central High School in 1931.

After spending a year in junior college, Jack wanted to leave school. He found that the Great Depression dried up most employment opportunities. With few job openings available, he joined the United States Marine Corps and served four years.

Following his discharge he attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts briefly. His drawing below was published in the Phoenix on November 28th, 1943. It is a drawing of the British Beaufighter he flew.


War clouds were billowing in Europe. Jack re-entered the military by joining the US Army early in 1940. He chose to become a pilot and passed both entrance examinations. He then completed his primary flight training at Glendale, California. Next he received advance training at Randolph and Kelly Fields outside of San Antonio, Texas. During this period he came back to Muskogee and married Catherine Clonts on August 28th, 1940. He was 27 years old. Five weeks later he was commissioned at Kelly Field. He received further training in Orlando, Florida, at the Fighter Command School.

He sailed across the Atlantic for his first tour of combat in the summer of 1942. He was assigned to temporary duty with the British to fill the latter's shortage of pilots. Davis flew the twin-engine British Beaufort fighter. He nicknamed this fighter the "Muskogee Rebel" after his father's southern heritage and his home town. In his seven months of combat he shot down one German plane.

During this period he was in command of fighters who fought at night over England and the English Channel. The Germans attacked at night because they found daylight raids too costly in lost aircraft and crew. Captain Davis also escorted bombers to targets in France and Germany in daylight raids. He served with the British, while still in the American 8th Air Force, from September, 1942 through the following March.

He was promoted to Major on April 1st and returned to the states. Following his return he was assigned to the Material Command of the US Army. Stationed in Washington, D.C., he worked to improve new fighter planes. Sixteen months of ironing out bugs was all he could stand. Determined to return to combat, Major Davis requested reassignment to a unit going overseas.

Jack Davis shipped from the United States with the first squadron of A-26's sent to the Pacific Theater. The A-26 Invader was a twin-engine plane that had only one pilot. It entered combat in January, 1945. Major Davis participated in the first A-26 bombing of Kyushu Island, Japan, in early July.

He was not a desk pilot. By the end of the month, Major Davis was part of the 500th Squadron of the 345th Bombardment Group. While the 500th was stationed on Ie Shima (after July 25th), Major Davis was flying the B-25 Mitchell medium attack bomber.

Because Gen. Douglas McArthur was a proponent of low-level bombing, the Mitchell was used to attack Japanese shipping. Two B-25's simultaneously attacks a warship or merchantman vessel. The higher plane strafed the vessel to prevent return fire. The lower B-25 flew just above the water on a bombing run. Its bomb would skip across the ocean's surface into the side of the ship.

Even though the second of the American nuclear bombs exploded over Nagasaki on August 9th, the war continued without letup. On August 12th, B-25's sunk or damaged several small Japanese merchant vessels in the Sea of Japan near Kyushu Island.

Of the 24-plane formation that went out that day, two Mitchells did not return. Major Davis' plane was one of the two. Forty-eight hours later, Japan surrendered.

The VFW plaque in the Davis Field office was presented in 1948. It attests to the high regard citizens reserved for Major Jack Davis. During the ceremonies, he was referred to as a "hero."

Daniel Haston provided research assistance.

Linda Moore, Museum Director

Linda Moore appears in the adjacent photograph. She shows how a man's tie was used in an exhibit.

Linda Moore has been involved with the Three Rivers Museum for the past ten years. She began as a volunteer on May 7, 1997. Roger Bell asked her to identify and catalog a growing collection of artifacts.

The museum board started accepting donations of historical material before 1997. There was no building for storage then. Connors State College solved the need for space. The three rooms used by the museum soon began to be congested as donations piled on top of earlier donations.

Roger Bell, the Three Rivers Museum board chairman, called for volunteers. He realized it was possible the collecting effort might backfire if there was no way to keep track of the collection.

Linda saw the first effort at cataloging as a good start that needed to get better. Descriptions of donated items were first recorded on paper forms. Linda said she envisioned the day when there would be a stack of paper forms while the board was still in the dark about what the museum possessed.

Next the museum acquired a computer for inventorying. Linda, unfamiliar with computers, began mastering the skills of operating one. She assumed the responsibilities of "collection management" when she joined the museum board.

The Three Rivers Museum continued to grow rapidly over the next couple of years. In February, 2000, Linda resigned from the board to become the museum's first Executive Director. She continued to catalogue items in the museum collection. Now over 10,000 artifacts are included in the museum's catalog.

The public rarely sees the work that goes into making a museum function successfully. This labor occurs out of the sight of the viewing public. In addition to cataloging, workrooms are used to preserve artifacts and to build exhibits.

Preservation is a major practice in museums. Linda said the she knew nothing about preserving artifacts when she started. She said she learned most of what she knows about preservation from reading how-to books and studying websites. Specialized knowledge about preserving a unique item requires expert advice. Such information often came from online sources.

Linda also learned how to build exhibits. She learned how by taking classes and attending state conferences. Linda has attended the last nine conferences conducted by the Oklahoma Museum Association.

Thanks to Linda Moore's dedication, the Three Rivers area has a professional museum residents can be proud of.

President Taft and the War Effort in Muskogee

That's former President William Howard Taft on the right in the photograph. He spoke in front of the War Stamp Savings Bank in downtown Muskogee. The bank appears in the background.

Muskogee residents built the Victory War Stamp Savings Bank in 1918 to promote the Third Liberty Loan Drive. It was constructed at Second and Broadway streets to facilitate the sale of war bonds. Normally, the Post Office only sold the bonds.

Charles Dawson designed the bank. Two local unions constructed it as a gift. The Carpenters Union No. 1072 erected the framing for the eight-sided structure. Members of the Plasterers Union No. 223 finished the outside. The long list of suppliers showed that almost every lumber company and hardware store in town contributed material. The building top was a parapet that showed eight cannons made out of tin protruding in all directions.

The bank inaugural was on April 3rd following a huge parade that included many groups. W. D. Egolf served as the Grand Marshal. E. L. Head and R. B. Butts were the marshal's aides.

Members of the Lions, the Masons, the Elks, Woodmen of the World and the Odd Fellows, to name just a few groups, represented the fraternal organizations. Patriot groups included veterans of earlier wars, current soldiers who were home on leave and members of the Women's Council of Defense. Store groups, factory workers and labor unions represented local businesses. Civic groups included the Red Cross, YMCA and the Boy Scouts.

Students from all public schools marched near the end of the parade. The high school students led this section. Students from the business college, School for the Blind, St. Joseph's College and Nazareth Institute also marched in this section.

About 20,000 citizens from Muskogee and area towns watched the parade. As was the custom of the day, almost every person wore a hat.

The speaker for the day was former US President William Howard Taft. He arrived from Tulsa on the 10:55 Midland Valley train. He spoke about mid-day in front of the bank to a crowd while standing in an open motorcar. Area residents crowded the intersection. President Taft spoke encouraging the purchase of bonds to show support for American boys then fighting in France.

President Taft said "If the young men of our nation are willing to give their lives, surely you ought to be willing to save and lend your savings to your government. Buy a stamp every day. Make it a habit."

Afterwards, the bank was opened for its first customers. Mrs. Flora Ryan bought a thousand dollars worth. Robert Asquith was the first man to make a purchase.

Pres. Taft later spoke at the elegant Hinton Theatre that night. He presented his famous speech "The Menace of a Premature Peace" to an overflowing crowd. Afterwards, the former president boarded a midnight train for St. Louis.

I would like to thank Karen Wagner for suggesting this topic.

William T. Miller, Horse Breeder

This picture came from Sue Miller Stephens of Clinton, Mississippi, who suggested a column about her great-grandfather.

William Thomas Miller was born in Kentucky in February, 1854. Breeding and raising horses was the love of his life. His specialty was raising American Saddle Horses on his farm near Bowling Green, Kentucky.

The American Saddle Horse came from cross-breeding small Narragansett Pacer horses with imported Thoroughbreds. These unnamed horses became desirable because of they were easy to ride and they were good at pulling carriages.

By the beginning of the American Revolution, this breed was called the "American Horse." Cross-breeding improved the American Horse. For example, cross-breeding the it with Morgan horses increased their stamina. During the American Civil War, the Confederate cavalry preferred the American Horse as their mount. The reason is they could endure long marches. They also tolerated the sound of gunfire better than other breeds.

Very early in 1891, Miller wrote to the "Farmers Home Journal." He suggested the formation of an association to promote the American Horse. This idea had been around for a while. The editor agreed the time was right and published several notices announcing the first meeting.

During the meeting on April 7th, 1891, the National Saddle Horse Breeders Association was established. This was the first American horse breed association formed in the United States. William T. Miller was elected one of the first directors.

In 1899 the association changed its name to the American Saddle Horse Breeders Association. The organization Miller helped start still survives. In 1980 the name was changed to the American Saddlebred Horse Association. Altogether, over the years, the association registered more than a quarter of a million horses.

W. T. Miller left Kentucky and by 1900 lived in the Cherokee Nation. He briefly operated a small mill. Around 1907 he started selling real estate for a living. At the same time he continued to raise American Saddle Horses on his ranch outside of Porum.

Many states including Oklahoma started chapters of the American Saddle Horse Association. Around statehood, Miller became vice-president of the Oklahoma chapter. This chapter was incorporated in 1955 as the Oklahoma Saddle Horse Association. It was re-incorporated twenty-two years later in Mounds, Oklahoma as the American Saddle Horse Association of Oklahoma.

W.T. Miller sold land and horses until age and infirmity forced him to retire. He died at the age of 88, about five months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was laid to rest in Porum at the Coleman Cemetery beside his wife.