George Andrew Davis Jr.

**George Andrew Davis, Jr.** (December 1, 1920 – February 10, 1952) was a highly decorated flying ace of the United States (US) Army in World War II. He was later part of the US Air Force during the Korean War. Davis rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in "MiG Alley" during the war. He was the only flying ace of the United States to be killed in action in Korea.

With a total of 21 victories he is one of only seven US military pilots to become an ace in two wars. He is also one of only 31 to be credited more than 20 victories. He was the fourth highest scoring ace of the Korean War.

## Biography

George Andrew Davis Jr. was born in Dublin, Texas on December 1, 1920. He was the seventh of nine children born to George Davis Sr. and Pearl Love Davis. In his childhood, Davis briefly lived in Maple, Texas. Davis attended Morton High School in Morton, Texas. Davis then attended Harding College in Searcy, Arkansas. After completing a degree he returned to Texas. He took up farming for a time with his family before eventually deciding to join the military.

## Aerial victory credits

Throughout his career, Davis was credited with 21 confirmed victories, 1 probable victory and 2 aircraft damaged. This made him one of only 30 US pilots to gain more than 20 confirmed victories over their careers. He had been known to be an extremely talented pilot and was especially accurate at deflection shooting, even from long distances against moving targets. Davis was one of 1,297 World War II aces from the United States, with seven confirmed kills during that war. He later became one of 41 Korean War aces from the United States, with 14 confirmed victories during that war. At the time of his death he was the top-scoring ace from the US, making him the ace of aces. By the end of the war, he was the fourth-highest scoring ace.

|Date|#|Type|Location|Aircraft flown|Unit|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|December 31, 1943|1|Aichi D3A|Arawe, New Guinea|P-47 Thunderbolt|342 FS, 348 FG|
|February 3, 1944|1|Ki-61 Hien|Wewak, New Guinea|P-47 Thunderbolt|342 FS, 348 FG|
|December 10, 1944|2|Ki-61 Hien|Cebu Island, The Philippines|P-47 Thunderbolt|342 FS, 348 FG|
|December 20, 1944|1|A6M Zero|Mindoro, The Philippines|P-47 Thunderbolt|342 FS, 348 FG|
|December 23, 1944|2|A6M Zero|Clark Field, The Philippines|P-47 Thunderbolt|342 FS, 348 FG|
|November 27, 1951|2|MiG-15|Won-Ok, North Korea|F-86 Sabre|334 FIS, 8 FIG|
|November 30, 1951|3|Tupolev Tu-2|Sahol, North Korea|F-86 Sabre|334 FIS, 8 FIG|
|November 30, 1951|1|MiG-15|Sahol, North Korea|F-86 Sabre|334 FIS, 8 FIG|
|December 5, 1951|1|MiG-15|Rinko-do, North Korea|F-86 Sabre|334 FIS, 8 FIG|
|December 5, 1951|1|MiG-15|Haechang, North Korea|F-86 Sabre|334 FIS, 8 FIG|
|December 12, 1951|2|MiG-15|Yongwon, North Korea|F-86 Sabre|334 FIS, 8 FIG|
|December 12, 1951|2|MiG-15|Changa-Ri, North Korea|F-86 Sabre|334 FIS, 8 FIG|
|February 12, 1952|2|MiG-15|Sinuiju, North Korea|F-86 Sabre|334 FIS, 8 FIG|
|colspan="6" style="font-size:90%;"|**Source:**|||||

### Medal of Honor citation

Davis was the third of four members of the US Air Force to be awarded the Medal of Honor in the war, after Louis J. Sebille, John S. Walmsley Jr. and before Charles J. Loring Jr. All four Air Force recipients were pilots and all were awarded the medal posthumously.

## Related pages

- List of Korean War Medal of Honor recipients

## Infobox (military person)

- **name**: George Andrew Davis, Jr.
- **image**: George Andrew Davis.jpg
- **birth place**: Dublin, Texas United States, USA
- **death place**: Sinuiju, North Korea
- **placeofburial**: Unknown
- **placeofburial label**: Place of burial
- **nickname**: "Curly"
"One Burst Davis"
- **branch**:

- **serviceyears**: 1942 – 1952
- **rank**:  Lieutenant Colonel (United States), Lieutenant Colonel (posthumous)
- **unit**: 342nd Fighter Squadron
71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
334th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
- **commands**: 334th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
- **battles**: **World War II**
New Guinea Campaign
Philippines Campaign (WWII), Philippines Campaign
**Korean War**
"MiG Alley"
- **awards**: Medal of Honor
Distinguished Service Cross (United States), Distinguished Service Cross
Silver Star (3)
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States), Distinguished Flying Cross (4)
Purple Heart
Air Medal (10)
Presidential Unit Citation (3)
- **servicenumber**: 13035A