Davis, Ramon Roderick, Capt

"Captain Davis was the pilot of a F-51D Mustang night fighter with the 12th Fighter Bomber Squadron, 18th Fighter Bomber Wing. On October 5, 1950, while on a combat mission over Sunchon, North Korea, his aircraft received a direct hit by anti-aircraft fire and lost its coolant. He landed on a sand bar in the Taedong River. He was listed as Missing in Action and was presumed dead on March 31, 1954. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial...Source: American Battle Monuments Commission, The Korean War Honor Roll, http://www.abmc.gov

"Date of Loss: 501005
Tail Number: 45-11606
Aircraft Type: F-51D
Wing or Group: 18th Ftr-Bmbr Gp
Squadron: 12th Ftr-Bmbr Sq
Circumstances of Loss: Hit by AAA over Sunchon, coolant leak, landed on sandbar in Taedong River
Crewmembers Associated With This Loss: Davis, Ramon R 1Lt USAF MIA" Source: Korwald Loss Incident Summary, http://www.dtic.mil

Then "Lieut Ramon R. Davis, husband of Mrs. Tommie M. Davis, Austin," was included on a list of U.S. military men that the United Nations Command believed to be unreported prisoners of the Communists. Source: "Eight Texans 'Lost' POWs," San Antonio Express (San Antonio, Texas), March 6, 1952

Ramon Roderick Davis's birthplace hasn't been determined. Although some sources indicate he was born in Iowa, I cannot yet confirm it. I believe he enlisted in the military in 1942, but haven't found a record to date.  By 1943, however, he was with the 56th Fighter Group. While with the 523rd Fighter Squadron, the unit was temporarily deployed to McChord AFB as a backup for the Berlin Airlift. It doesn't appear the unit was further deployed overseas. He earned an Air Medal and fifteen (15) oak leaf clusters, though it would appear that at least half, if not more were earned during WWII. Thus, the dates of the air medals reflected on the right panel are inaccurate.

"Name: Ramon Roderick Davis
Birth Date: 12 Oct 1924
Gender: Male
Home City: Ames
Home State: Iowa
Citizen Status: US Citizen
Death Date: 31 Mar 1954 (Note: Presumed death date)
Processed Date: Nov 1976
Casualty Country: Korea
Casualty Type: Hostile-Died While Missing
Casualty Cause: Aircraft Loss/ Crash Not at Sea
Casualty Air: Fixed Wing Air Casualty - Pilot
Service Branch: US Air Force
Component: Reserve
Rank: Captain
Pay Grade: Captain"
Source: Korean War Casualties, 1950-1957, Ancestry.com

In the words of then World War II pilot 1st Lt Ramon R Davis:

"...I saw an FW 190 traveling along the deck in the same direction we were going. I called in that I was going down and made a 360 degree lefthand overhead pass on him. Leveling out slightly above him at about 370 m.p.h., I checked my gun switch and K14 sight and deciding that I wasn't catching up fast enough, applied water injection. At about 400 yards I opened fire and saw numerous strikes on the fuselage. He had started a shallow turn to the right as soon as he saw me and when he was hit, pulled up in a 45 degree climb. At that time I could see that the e/a was on fire. The flames were streaming out from his belly. I then cut him off and continued to fire but I was closing so fast that I had to pull off to the right to keep from hitting the e/a. I looked around and saw the canopy fly off and the plot bail out. At the same time I observed my number 2 and 3 men coming up behind him. The e/a had pullled up to about 1,600 feet when the pilot bailed out, his chute opening at about 1,000 feet. The plane hit the ground in a 75 degree dive and exploded. I then went down and took pictures of both plane and chute. I claim one FW 190 destroyed in air." Source: Sixty Third Fighter Squadron, AAF Station F-150, Personal Combat Report, 8th Air Force by 1st Lt. Ramon R. Davis, Air Corps, http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org