"One guy said, 'Sergeant I am so scared." And I said, 'If you weren't scared, I'd be scared.' You have to be. A guy that's not scared, I'm afraid of you. I want you to be afraid." (Audio Interview, Part 2, 36:39)
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Elvyn V. Davidson |
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| World War, 1939-1945
Army
F Company, 370th Regiment, 92nd Division
Camp Upton, New York; Fort Riley, Kansas; University of Nebraska; Camp Polk, Louisiana; Camp Huachuca, Arizona; Oran, Algeria; Naples, Italy
NY
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Orphaned at 11 when both his parents died, Elvyn Davidson moved from Long Island to Manhattan to live with his older, married brother. After having to drop out of college for lack of funds, Davidson landed a job in a War Department office on Wall Street, through his brother's friendship with Adam Clayton Powell. With the U.S. entry into the war, he decided to enlist and become a cavalry officer like his father, who had served in the Spanish-American War. But the cavalry was becoming obsolete, and Davidson wound up a noncommissioned officer in the infantry with the 92nd Division. In a long and detailed interview, Davidson describes the hardships of serving in Italy, his leniency with his men, the importance of camaraderie to morale, and conditions in postwar Japan, where he served in the Occupation.
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