Memorial Day 1958
The Unknowns of World War II and Korea
The caskets of the WWII and Korean unknowns arrived in Washington on May 28, 1958.The first in line to pay respects was Walter Davis, a native of Corry, Pennsylvania. The caption for the news service photo pictured above reads:
“Walter Davis, Pennsylvania farmer who lost an arm fighting in the European theater in the last war stands at attention before the flag-draped caskets containing the bodies of Unknowns of World War II and Korea in the Capitol rotunda today. Davis, of Corry, Pa., was the first man in line to pay tribute to the Unknowns. ‘It’s beautiful, it’s beautiful,’ he said.”
The caskets lay in the Capitol Rotunda until the morning of May 30, when they were carried to Arlington National Cemetery. President Eisenhower awarded each the Medal of Honor, and the Unknowns of World War II and the Korean War were interred in the plaza beside their World War I comrade.
A Purple Heart recipient - he was wounded in both France and Germany, losing his left hand in clashes along the Siegfried Line - Davis died July 19, 1999. His remains are interred in Lawn Cemetery in Beaver Dam, Erie County, Pennsylvania.
May he, and they, rest in peace.
Once again you prove something old is still timely in the attention span of those present.