Thomas Ray Davis was born Nov. 17, 1904, in Davie County in west-central North Carolina. His father, William Davis, was a farmer and his mother, Jennie Miller Davis, a homemaker.
The son enlisted in the Navy about 1923. He married a Pennsylvanian, Gertrude Harris, in 1934. They made their home in Long Beach, California, next to San Pedro, which was home base for many ships, including the U.S.S. Arizona, which Mr. Davis first went aboard in 1937.
He was a shipfitter and petty officer first class on the
Sources: Special thanks to great niece Judy Hildebrand. Other sources are: the Charlotte (North Carolina Observer; North Carolina birth and marriage record; Census; Navy muster rolls. Family photo. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.